Over the past year, Will Boyd, Damon D'Arienzo, and Dallas Ketchum have grown successful delivery businesses as Amazon Delivery Service Partners (DSPs). They apply their leadership skills from the military to their roles as DSPs, leading teams that deliver smiles to Amazon customers. Boyd, D'Arienzo, and Ketchum represent the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army and are among the hundreds of Amazon DSPs who have translated their military experiences into entrepreneurial success.
Launched in 2018, the Amazon DSP program connects aspiring entrepreneurs like Boyd, D'Arienzo, and Ketchum with resources and coaching to help them build and scale their own businesses with Amazon. Amazon also leads a veteran incentive initiative through the DSP program to help former military service personnel bring their skills to the transportation and logistics sector.
To date, Amazon has made grants totaling $5 million to directly support approximately 500 veterans in launching and leading their own transportation businesses. And while their experiences—from clearing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to supporting logistics operations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—differ, Boyd, D'Arienzo, and Ketchum each credit their military service with helping them cultivate the values of teamwork, communication, and leadership that have been integral to building and growing their transportation businesses.
Will Boyd, founder of Alpha Zulu Logistics, Denver, Colorado
Will Boyd’s company, Alpha Zulu Logistics, honors not only his military service in the U.S. Army but also his current role as an Amazon DSP. Drawing inspiration from Amazon’s logo, which features an arrow pointing from ‘a’ to ‘z,’ Boyd landed on “Alpha Zulu”—or ‘a’ to ‘z’ in the military phonetic alphabet—when naming his new company. Not only a nod to his military past, Alpha Zulu also serves as a signal to fellow veterans that Boyd’s company values their military service and is a safe destination for veterans seeking to build their post-service careers.
That service commitment has also been integral to Boyd’s success as a leader with a focus on building trust and strong communication across his team.
While serving in Afghanistan, Boyd served as an Army Engineer and assisted with stabilization operations, such as rebuilding schools and implementing the first women's school in Asadabad. This work led him to fully appreciate the importance of learning from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences. He carried this lesson with him while serving as a Company Commander in Iraq, leading a Combat Engineer Company of 190 soldiers charged with clearing roads of hidden explosives across 900 square miles of terrain north of Baghdad. In this role, Boyd worked to empower his team to remain calm and focused, develop their inherent strengths, and work together. He is proud to say that his team had a strong track record of maintaining safe roads for the military convoys and civilian populace who traveled behind them. Today, Boyd continues to serve as a Space Operations Officer in the U.S. Army Reserve leading a unit of highly skilled Army Space professionals.
Today, as the owner of Alpha Zulu Logistics, Boyd's leadership characteristics foster a team environment that encourages trust and learning from one another's strengths while leaning forward with the latest technology adaptations Amazon has made with the DSP program. With a team that has grown to 140 people, Boyd encourages and empowers his employees to discover their personal career and leadership potential.
Damon D'Arienzo, founder of Family Delivery, Boston, Massachusetts
Damon D'Arienzo served in the U.S. Navy after graduating high school. He continued his service through the collegiate ROTC program until he was forced to retire from the Navy due to an injury.
After the Navy, D'Arienzo worked in government where he worked for two governors; then served as a business consultant, before following his passion to become an entrepreneur. However, the timing was not right, as the Covid-19 pandemic halted the event and entertainment industry, delaying the launch of D'Arienzo’s company. As a single father, D'Arienzo was determined to make a career change—one that would sustain his entrepreneurial spirit while creating new opportunities for him and his daughter.
D'Arienzo created Family Delivery Services—named in recognition of his personal mantra of putting family first and the belief that his new delivery company will serve families like his. In just over one year, D'Arienzo has been able to grow his business from a single truck to a thriving enterprise with more than 40 employees from all walks of life, from retirees and college students to experienced drivers and dispatchers.
D'Arienzo's experience in the Navy makes him a resilient leader and entrepreneur. True to its moniker, Family Delivery Services, D'Arienzo sees his company as an opportunity to show his daughter the ins and outs of growing a business and building an environment of teamwork, trust, and support. He encourages his team to learn from one another and reminds them daily they're all in it together—a mindset that was integral during his experience in the Navy.
Dallas Ketchum, founder of Black Eagle Express, San Antonio, Texas
Dallas Ketchum served in the Army for 26 years completing tours in the Gulf War and Iraq. Through his career, Ketchum rose through the enlisted ranks, eventually being selected to attend the U.S. Army Officer Candidate Academy where he received a commission to become an Army Officer. This training allowed him to become a multi-functional Logistician and serve as a training unit Company Commander at the Fort Lee Military Base in Virginia. During his time in the Army, Dallas trained thousands of Soldiers to be dependable comrades in the face of extremely high-pressure situations — and he took this experience and continued to hone those skills when he retired in August 2015 as a Captain.
After working in operational and logistics support for private companies and FEMA, Ketchum was inspired to create his own logistics company in partnership with Amazon. As the primary recruiter at Black Eagle Express, Ketchum looks for employees who have qualities similar to the soldiers he trained and served with, and inspires his current employees to take pride in their work. Ketchum describes Black Eagle Express as a company of integrity, where each of his 50-plus employees have trust and respect for one another.
Boyd, D'Arienzo, and Ketchum are three outstanding examples of the service leaders and entrepreneurs who continue to build successful enterprises as part of the Amazon DSP program.
Amazon is investing in the future, constantly finding new ways to empower employees and partners to succeed. Learn more about Amazon's Delivery Service Partner program and delivery driver opportunities.
