Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | November 17, 2025 | wbjournal.com Congratulations M A T T H E W C A S A U B O N D i r e c t o r o f V e t e r a n A f f a i r s on being selected as one of the 2025 Worcester Business Journal's Notable Veteran Leaders 5.0 Based on 193 Reviews 49 Main St. Sturbridge, MA 01566 www.ClearComIT.com "Preferred IT vendor" of the Partner with ClearCom IT Solutions for responsive & reliable IT service and support for your business. Give us a call! 508-205-1114 Veteran Business Leaders - You've served with integrity; your IT partner should too. Let us safeguard your tech so you can focus on the mission of growing your business. F O C U S VETERANS IN BUSINESS Helder Machado CEO Machado Consulting, in Worcester Residence: Sutton Military branch: U.S. Army and Massachusetts Army National Guard Served: 32 years Rank at discharge: Lt. colonel Helder Machado joined the U.S. Army to get money for college through the GI Bill. What he gained was far more valuable. Over 32 years of service, he became a combat veteran, received the Combat Infantryman's Badge, and served overseas in Iraq with the highly decorated ird Infantry Division. His last duty in the Massachusetts Army National Guard was chief information officer. Before joining the service, he didn't know much about the military's core val- ues. When he joined, he felt a tremendous amount of honor and pride represent- ing the country. e Army core values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage became the values he endeavored to embody. It created a hunger in him to be the very best he could be. e military provided him with the discipline, structure, and organization skills needed for business success. e hardest part of transitioning to civilian life was the absence of military structure and camaraderie. His military life was characterized by well-defined routines, clear roles, and a strong sense of shared purpose. Civilian life felt unfa- miliar because it lacked that regimented structure and close-knit community. Today, Machado is CEO of Machado Consulting, an information-technology consulting practice and managed security service provider. His service-disabled veteran-owned small business has grown to 35 employees since 2001, and Mach- ado was awarded Veteran Small Business Owner of the Year for Massachusetts from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Andrew Leblanc Vice president of information technology All One Credit Union, in Leominster Residence: Lunenburg Military branch: U.S. Coast Guard Served: 20 years Rank: E-7 chief boatswain mate Andrew Leblanc joined the U.S. Coast Guard to serve his country and help others. Now serving as chief boatswain mate with nearly 20 years of service, he has built his military career on the Coast Guard's core values: honor, respect, and devotion to duty. He carries those values into his professional life every day, along with integrity, compassion, and accepting responsibility. e hardest part about transitioning was realizing that civilian life isn't struc- tured the same way as military service. To enter the military, everyone needs to pass boot camp, a process identifying those who can excel under pressure. Recog- nizing that people on the civilian side don't have the same baseline was the most challenging aspect. Leblanc started at All One Credit Union in 2018 as a risk manager, overseeing and enhancing the credit union's cybersecurity posture. In 2022, he led the insti- tution through its core conversion, collaborating with multiple departments and external vendors. e effort required skills in project management, time man- agement, conflict resolution, and contract negotiation. He was promoted to vice president of information technology in spring 2022, where he oversees a team of five IT professionals supporting roughly 140 employees. To achieve success, he uses skills learned while serving. Preparation, commu- nication, training, and execution are cornerstones for any successful mission. He takes this same approach with his team every day. Beyond his business role, he serves on the advisory board for Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, shaping course plans and advocating for funding in information technology.

• Cover