alumni profile
2 0 2 1 A l u m n i Exc ellenc e Awa rd: Ma rk Kl et t ’71
Ahead of His Time
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hen Mark Klett gradu- ated from Rivers, in 1971, the coming computer revolution was on few people’s radars. But Klett was among those who knew that those large and clunky early machines were way more than glorified calculators. It wasn’t mere prescience that led Klett to study computer science at the U.S. Naval Academy. “Abraham Lincoln said, ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it,’” says Klett, the recipient of this year’s Alumni Excellence Award. To that end, Klett’s business, Klett Consulting Group Inc., has worked with countless clients to develop systems, manage programs, and enhance cybersecurity. Many of Klett’s clients are government and military, an outgrowth of his own 20-year career in the Navy. Today, he uses his military networks and experience to pursue such projects as designing information architecture for aircraft carriers and serving as a prime contractor for cybersecurity and communications within the Department of Homeland Security. A bit surprisingly, Klett’s education in computer science began at Rivers. Few high schools were offering the subject at that time. “It wasn’t a very popular thing,” Klett says. “But my first computer experience was at Rivers. They had some computers there, and I learned some programming in BASIC.” Klett didn’t spend all his time at Rivers in the computer lab; a star athlete and strong student, he played football, basketball, and lacrosse, serving as co-captain of the first two and going on to play the third in college; he performed with the glee club and drama club; and he worked 36
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at the Rivers summer camp. “I did so much, most people thought I was there four or five years,” says Klett, but in fact, he only arrived at Rivers in time for his junior year. His family had recently relocated from New Jersey to Wellesley, and after crossing paths with then Rivers athletic director Andy Navoni, he pitched his parents on the idea of attending Rivers. They didn’t bite. “They said we couldn’t afford it, so I said I would pay for it,” recalls Klett. Good for his word, he received some financial aid and made up the difference by working various jobs, saving his earnings toward tuition. Ultimately, his parents conceded it was the right choice, sending his younger brother Tom ’77 along to Rivers in his footsteps. Despite the sacrifices it demanded, says Klett, “Rivers was a terrific fit, and it really prepared me for college. The Naval Academy is a pretty rigorous place to go to school, but I continued to use the study habits and leadership skills I learned at Rivers.” After Annapolis, Klett was shipped out to Newport, R.I., and thus began a 20-year odyssey that took Klett and, eventually, his family to ports around the world. It was a challenging and peripatetic lifestyle that sometimes separated him from his wife and two children for months at a time. But he embraced the challenges and the opportunities that came along with them. “I learned a lot from it that I’ve been able to apply to my work as an entrepreneur,” says Klett. He founded KCG in 2002. Today, the firm has 70 employees and has earned numerous accolades, including being named a “best place to work” in Hampton Roads, Va., for the past two years running. He’s particularly proud of that honor: “We
work hard to take care of our people and to be a well-rounded company.” KCG specializes in various areas, but Klett’s passion is cybersecurity. It’s not just his work; he frequently teaches and lectures on the topic, addressing government and community organizations. “I’m a technology translator,” he says—one who breaks down complicated topics for lay audiences. “People need to have an awareness about being cyber safe and what constitutes good cyber hygiene,” a term he coined for the type of vigilance needed to ensure our devices are safe from hackers. He’s also involved in the effort to bring high-speed internet to Hampton Roads, serves on several boards and advisory groups, volunteers, and in his spare time (of which he has admittedly little) golfs and takes his boat out on the ocean. In some ways, his busy life echoes the trajectory he began at Rivers: Klett still has a way of packing in more activity than seems humanly possible. But perhaps what keeps him going is the lifelong drive to see and shape the future. Circling back to Lincoln’s words, he adds, “I’ve embraced that my whole career.”
