Michael Ricks joined the Small Business Administration in 2004. He served as the District Director in Alabama for four years and was appointed as the District Director for Louisiana in 2008.

Prior to joining the SBA, Mr. Ricks served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer, a Program Manager for Advanced Technology and Production Readiness projects for the U.S. Marine Corps in Washington, DC, and as a Defense Acquisition Officer in early Program Concept Development for the Army Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Georgia. As an active duty and reserve infantry officer, Mr. Ricks completed numerous overseas combat and hazardous duty deployments. He was medically retired from active service and is a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV).

Mr. Ricks is a former small business entrepreneur and operated a consulting company in Florida which advised on software development, business processes, and information systems technology.

Mr. Ricks earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Technology from the University of Houston. He also holds a graduate degree in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, California, as well as an MBA from Troy University in Alabama.

Mr. Ricks was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, where much of his extended family still resides.