Title: President
Company: Splash 3 Foundation Inc.
Location: Tucson, Arizona, United States
Cesar A. Rodriguez Jr., president at Splash 3 Foundation Inc., has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in nonprofit administration.
Mr. Rodriguez has carved a distinguished career path that spans military service and leadership roles in both the defense industry and the nonprofit sector. As president of the Splash 3 Foundation Inc. since 2023, he has dedicated himself to supporting veterans and local charities in Tucson, Arizona. Determined to leverage his brand to help supporting organizations, Mr. Rodriguez speaks at institutions nationwide as a motivational speaker and attends college and high school graduations as a keynote speaker.
Mr. Rodriguez established Splash 3 in 2022 as the firm’s chief executive officer, utilizing his extensive experience to provide defense contracting consulting services to clients. Before his current role, he honed his skills in business development at Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. His strategic acumen was also developed as the director of business strategy for air warfare systems at Raytheon Missile Systems.
Mr. Rodriguez’s foundational experiences were shaped by his distinguished military career in the U.S. Air Force from 1981 to 2006. As a senior officer, commander, and fighter pilot, he demonstrated exceptional leadership and team-building skills. His military service is marked by three air-to-air victories, which is where the namesake of his foundation originated. He was also decorated with a Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters from the U.S. Air Force in 1991.
In his experience, Mr. Rodriguez has had minimal disruptions in setting up and making his non-profit successful due to luck and their absolute team mentality. They treat every organization they bring in, from lawyers, to banks, to media, as members of our team and honor their expertise while contributing to the big picture. The second aspect which has made his company successful is the honest buy in they receive from their team members, volunteers and charities which they support, as they provide an avenue for people to go out of their way to bring kindness and help into the world.
Mr. Rodriguez attributes his success to his humility in his charity work, as he remains humble in his cause and focus on the charities’ needs. Many veterans have various challenges, both physical and emotional, and he believes he must be humble to recognize their service and the challenges they are facing to be able to support them. He understands he will not solve all the problems but will witness the day-to-day progress that each of these charities make, which translates into success for the Splash 3 Foundation. He is also motivated by his willingness to fail. In every organization he has worked with, he has strived to create an environment that fosters creativity and growth where failure is an option. The space for failure to exist and recover from allows his company to think and dream bigger and allows his team members to take more responsibility. When failure does occur, Mr. Rodriguez utilizes it as a jumping point to better focus and tailor his efforts so that they do not make the same mistakes again, and ultimately the charities and organizations he works with benefit.
Though he believes many organizations are doing great work to help communities in need, Mr. Rodriguez states that many individuals and organizations are also abusing the generosity of our country, businesses, donors and sponsors by not being vigilant and honest while others have chosen at some point to make it a personal journey of raising money for themselves. He posits that the challenge of being true and honest, not only for the reputation of the foundation but for the charities that we support, is alive and well because there are people out there willing to take advantage of other’s kindness and generosity. Mr. Rodriguez also claims that the power of his team and their commitment are the hands on the rudder that ensure they are staying true to their mission statement
In his journey of navigating non-profits that work with veterans, Mr. Rodriguez have been impressed with the change in perception and actions seen on behalf of Veteran Affairs (VA). The VA recognizes many of the bureaucratic limitations they are faced with and has been a willing partner to many of our charities who can navigate around those limitations. The VA has been an advocate of the efforts of his foundation and others with the same mission. Mr. Rodriguez also emphasizes that the VA has embarked on an incredible journey of helping every veteran, but they need everyone to help by acting as one team and not as opposing teams.
Mr. Rodriguez cites his purpose as the most exciting element of his career, having always had a purpose at home during his childhood. As an aviator, there is always purpose in the camaraderie of the squadron and, ultimately, their mission, and in his industry, there’s a purpose to his shareholders, customers and each of our employees. In this new endeavor, Mr. Rodriguez has found and shared a purpose of helping others and building a community around those who have given so much to the United States.
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