TOP 100 MAGAZINE

Paul Hickey
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Paul Hickey’s career has been defined by scale, speed, and perspective. A seasoned engineer, executive, and entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience in operations and finance, Paul spent his professional life at the intersection of strategy and execution—guiding organizations through complexity, growth, and transformation. As chief financial officer of StealthEnomics, he brings that hard-earned insight to leaders who want to make better, faster, and more confident technology decisions without getting lost in the noise of the IT marketplace.

 

Before joining StealthEnomics, Paul successfully helped transition a $60 million organization through multiple acquisitions into a publicly traded enterprise exceeding $30 billion. Along the way, he operated as the functional equivalent of a CEO, COO, and CFO across business units ranging from $60 million to $200 million, leading organizations of more than 300 employees across 13 geographically dispersed offices, including operations in Afghanistan. Those experiences shaped his belief that time—not technology—is the most valuable currency leaders possess.

 

StealthEnomics was built on that principle. The firm’s IT brokerage services, supported by more than 200 vendor agreements with providers such as Verizon, Comcast, Five9, and Zoom, are designed to remove friction from the technology acquisition process for SMBs and private higher education institutions. Rather than starting with products, Paul and his team begin with organizational goals, key performance indicators, and real-world constraints. Technology becomes the translation, not the headline.

 

When StealthEnomics meets with executives, the conversation is intentionally nontechnical. Paul focuses on outcomes—secure communication, campus safety, operational efficiency, and scalability—then brings forward prequalified vendors and tailored proposals that meet both strategic and procurement requirements. For higher education clients, this approach has proven especially powerful. When a leading HBCU needed to reboot critical systems and obtain multiple qualified bids to satisfy procurement rules, StealthEnomics accelerated the process by delivering vetted options without forcing leadership to engage with dozens of vendors. For clients, the service comes at no cost; StealthEnomics is compensated by vendors, while its obligation remains squarely with the client.

 

That trust-based model has real impact. In one university engagement, concerns around campus violence and theft led Paul’s team to recommend AI-enabled video analytics layered onto existing security infrastructure, which creates faster threat detection, improved safety for students and staff, and increased confidence among parents and administrators—supporting both recruitment and retention.

 

Paul’s motivation is personal as well as professional. With nieces and nephews still in school, campus safety is more than a business challenge; it is a responsibility. His broader work, in honor of his late wife, including award-winning research on gender diversity in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, reflects a career-long commitment to building environments where people and organizations can thrive.

 

From “corporate guy” to entrepreneur, Paul now applies a lifetime of executive experience to help leaders move faster, decide smarter, and build relationships that last decades—not just transactions that close today.

 

Paul Hickey
CFO
StealthEnomics
Website: https://stealthenomics.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/paul-j-hickey-phd-pmp-8620043

Facebook: www.facebook.com/paul.hickey.1044    or   https://www.facebook.com/stealthenomics