Mark Sanders

Mark Sanders is the Chairman of R3. He co-founded the firm in 2010 after retiring from the U.S. Navy after more than 20 years as a Special Operations officer and Master EOD technician. His last three assignments were focused on the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) threat. At U. S. Joint Forces Command as the IED Defeat lead action officer, he coordinated operational and strategic level support to the Joint IED Defeat Organization and U.S. Central Command. He commanded Navy EOD Training and Evaluation One, responsible for advanced tactical training of EOD forces deploying to Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. As Deputy Commander of Combined Joint Task Force Troy, Iraq’s multinational and interagency counter-IED brigade task force, he oversaw the 1400-person task force at the height of the surge. Additional tours included Operations Officer on a Mine Countermeasures ship, Officer in Charge of an EOD detachment for a carrier battle group during Operation Desert Strike, Executive Officer of the Navy’s Experimental Diving Unit, and overseas duty with the U. S. Seventh Fleet where he planned and executed such multinational exercises as Cobra Gold (Thailand) and Balikatan (Philippines). His personal decorations include the Bronze Star.

In December 2021, Mark led R3’s transition to a combined Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Employee-Owned business and assumed the role of President and CEO. In May 2024, he bifurcated those roles as part of business succession planning and in April 2026 became Chairman of R3.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Oceanography with merit from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds two Master’s degrees in National Security and Public Administration as well as executive education at Pepperdine and USC Marshall School of Business. He chairs the Board of Advisors of Command Post Technologies, a cyber security and network engineering government services firm, is Vice Chairman of the Navy Special Operations Foundation and on the Board of Directors of the EOD Warrior Foundation.