"Our founders were creative, flexible and adaptable, and these extraordinary qualities still guide us today. CCA employees continue to make this company a success through the very same values on which the company was founded more than 25 years ago."
– John Ferguson, CCA Chairman of the Board
Damon Hininger
President and Chief Executive Officer
Damon Hininger was named President and Chief Executive Officer in August 2009, having previously been appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer in July 2008. Damon served as Senior Vice President of Federal and Local Customer Relations since September 2007 after having served as Vice President of Federal and Local Customer Relations since June 2002. Hininger previously served CCA as Vice President, Business Analysis since December 2000. He has also served the company as Director, Strategic Planning and Director Proposal Development. Hininger joined the company in 1992 as a correctional officer at Leavenworth Detention Center in Leavenworth, Kansas, and was promoted to Training Manager at Central Arizona Detention Center in 1994. That same year, Hininger was also selected as both Central Arizona Detention Center's and CCA's company-wide Employee of the Year. He joined the corporate office in 1995, serving as Manager, Facility Start Up for three years. Hininger earned a B.S. from Kansas State University and an M.B.A. from the Jack Massey Graduate School of Business at Belmont University in Nashville.
Brian Collins
Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Brian Collins was named Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer in September 2009. Collins joined CCA as Vice President of Facility Operations, Business Unit I in June 2006. Prior to CCA, Collins served a distinguished 25-year career in the service industry with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., that included roles in management, human resources, customer satisfaction, staff training, and professional development. Since 1981, he has held positions to include Regional Personnel Manager, Director of Operations, Market Director, Director of Field Support, Director of Operations Support, and Director of Operations. He most recently served as Market Manager for Sam's Club in Dallas, Texas. In this role, he oversaw 11 Sam's Clubs and 1,800 employees, and was responsible for $822 million in annual revenues, as well as market planning, employee development, strategic planning for his market, and financial and cost control. Collins holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Tony Grande
Executive Vice President
and Chief Development Officer
Tony Grande assumed the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer in July 2008 after serving as Senior Vice President of State Customer Relations since September 2007. Grande joined CCA in 2003 in the newly-created role of Vice President of State Customer Relations. In his current capacity, Grande oversees all existing federal, state and local contracts, and he leads the company's national efforts to forge new government partnerships. Tony previously served as Tennessee's Commissioner of Economic and Community Development (ECD). In that role, he led the recruitment and expansion of business to the State, managing an $85 million budget and 200 employees. Having worked in Tennessee government since 1998, Tony served as Assistant Commissioner and later as Deputy Commissioner of ECD. He previously led a publishing and database marketing company and served as a political speechwriter in Washington, DC. Tony earned his Masters of Education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and his Bachelor of Arts from the American University in Washington, D.C.
Todd Mullenger
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Todd Mullenger was named CCA's Chief Financial Officer in March 2007. Mullenger joined CCA as Vice President, Finance in September 1998 and later served as Treasurer from February 2001 to March 2007. Previously, Mullenger served as Vice President, Finance at Service Merchandise. He also spent several years at Arthur Anderson LLP where his experience included the private corrections industry. Mr. Mullenger earned a bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and an M.B.A. from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
G.A. Puryear IV
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Gus Puryear was named General Counsel of CCA in January 2001. Most recently, Puryear served as Legislative Director and Counsel for U.S. Senator Bill Frist, where he worked on legislation and other policy matters. During the fall of 2000, Puryear also served as a debate advisor to Vice President Richard B. Cheney. Puryear also worked as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs' special investigation of campaign finance abuses during the 1996 elections, which was chaired by Senator Fred Thompson. Prior to his career on Capital Hill, Puryear worked for Farris, Warfield & Kanaday (now Stites and Harbison), a law firm in Nashville. Puryear was also a law clerk for the Honorable Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale, U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit in Jackson, Miss. Puryear earned a bachelor's with highest honors in political science from Emory University in 1990 and a J.D., with honors, from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1993.
Richard P. Seiter
Executive Vice President and
Chief Corrections Officer
Rick Seiter joined CCA as Executive Vice President and Chief Corrections Officer in January 2005. Mr. Seiter was Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction from 1983 to 1988. In that cabinet-level position, he oversaw the operations of 18 prison facilities, a staff of 8,000, and an annual budget of approximately $400 million. Most recently, Seiter served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. He has authored two textbooks on corrections, Corrections: An Introduction (2005) and Correctional Administration: Integrating Theory and Practice (2002).
Seiter has served in a variety of roles with the Federal Bureau of Prisons including the Assistant Director for Industries, Education and Training (1989-1993), during which time he served as Chief Operating Officer of Federal Prisons Industries, a government corporation that sells goods manufactured by inmates. He also served as Warden, Federal Correctional Institution, Greenville, Illinois (1993-1999) and Warden, Federal Prison Camp, Allenwood, Pennsylvania (1981-1982). Seiter holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Ohio State University and earned his M.P.A. and Ph.D. in Public Administration from Ohio State.