Rob “Ice” Ffield

I grew up in Orchard Park, New York during the 1960s-70s in a middle-class household where my father worked as a Superintendent in the steel industry to support my brother, sister and I, while my mother successfully raised three independent and ambitious children.

Initially inspired by Formula One auto racing and downhill skiing legends such as James Hunt, Niki Lauda and Franz Klammer, my passion for high-speed activities took hold during my collegiate studies at Clarkson University while captaining the school’s alpine skiing team.

After earning my Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, I shifted my aspirations from racing to piloting jet fighters, and found myself as an officer in the United States Navy.

It was during this period I earned a distinguished record as a Naval Aviator, including tours of duty as the  Commanding Officer and Flight Leader of the Blue Angels, Commanding Officer of Carrier Air Wing 7 (CVW-7), Squadron Commander of the “Knighthawks” (VFA-136), as well as both an Instructor and Executive Officer of the Navy’s Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, more popularly known as TOPGUN.

After retiring from active duty in 2009, I started devoting more of my time to refining my personal philosophy of individual excellence development and organizational leadership grounded in my 27 years of experience with America’s most elite combat forces.

Today, I’ve shifted my mission from instructing elite fighter pilots to training today’s business leaders, applying the same methods, strategies, and tactics from my years as a Naval Officer, Blue Angel Flight Leader and TOPGUN instructor.

I founded CATSHOT Group to focus on helping organizations large and small in areas such as executive leadership training, strategic planning, tactical execution, corporate culture transformation, personal transition planning, and global business development.