145: Black Ops & Bold Leadership with Ric Prado

Enrique “Ric” Prado is a 24-year veteran of the CIA’s operations directorate, playing a pivotal role in counterterrorism and clandestine operations. As a co-founder of the Osama bin Laden task force, Alec Station, and later Chief of Operations for the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center, he was instrumental in the agency’s post-9/11 counterterrorism expansion. Prado led high-stakes intelligence and kinetic operations worldwide, earning recognition for his leadership in some of the most challenging missions against terrorist networks and hostile foreign agents. His career has been described as an "operational adventure," with significant contributions to some of the most critical covert actions in modern CIA history. Born in Cuba, Prado experienced the Cuban Revolution before immigrating to the U.S. as a refugee. He later served as a U.S. Air Force Pararescue operator before joining the CIA, where he spent decades in high-threat environments, including Latin America, the Middle East, and East Asia. He was a key figure in operations against the Shining Path in Peru, the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines, and North Korean intelligence activities. After retiring from the CIA, he continued his work in private intelligence and security operations. A recipient of multiple prestigious awards, including the CIA’s Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, Prado is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and daring intelligence officers of his generation. He is an author of the best seller, “Black Ops- the life of a CIA Shadow Warrior.” Ric understands resilience, high stakes leadership and how to be incredibly decisive when it matters most. Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior https://www.cbsnews.com/video/black-ops-the-life-of-a-cia-shadow-warrior/ To know more about Ric visit his website: www.ricprado.com All of the episodes in April are brought to you by The Outlier Project where we choose to live extraordinary lives.