Francisco J. Collazo

Francisco J. Collazo (born 1931) is the CEO and President of Collazo Enterprises Inc. He is the co-founder of COLSA Corporation, a business enterprise which provides engineering and support services to NASA, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Missile Defense Agency. In 2012, COLSA Corp. was recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine as being one of the top 100 Hispanic Businesses in the United States.

Early years Collazo was born in the city of Utuado, Puerto Rico and grew up in his father's farm. He received his primary education in his hometown. In 1946, he dropped out of high school and joined the United States Army. He continued his education while serving in the military where he went to the Korean War and the Vietnam War and retired from the Army after 30 years of service with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer. Among his military decorations was the Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster for his service during the Vietnam War. Mr. Collazo is a service-connected disabled veteran.

Collazo attended the University of Texas in Austin, Texas where he earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. He later earned a master of Computer Systems Engineering from the Southeastern Institute of Technology.

The company moved from Collazo's garage to South Memorial Parkway in Huntsville and later to Sparkman Drive. The company is currently located in Cummings Research Park. It reached #15 on the TOP500 list.

Under Collazo's leadership the company grew and continued to expand. The company has regional offices in Washington, DC; Orlando, Florida; Shalimar, Florida; San Diego, California, Colorado Springs, Colorado and Sierra Vista, Arizona.

Personal Collazo retired from the United States Army in 1976 and lives together with his wife has three children and seven grandchildren, continues to reside in Huntsville. In May 2003, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. On October 25, 2012, COLSA Corp. was recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine as being one of the top 100 Hispanic Businesses in the United States.

Military awards and decorations Among Collazo 's decorations are the following:

Bronze Star Medalwith one bronze oak leaf clusterMeritorious Service MedalNational Defense Service Medal(with 1 bronze Service Star) Korean Service MedalUnited Nations Service Medal KoreaVietnam Service Medal(with 4 bronze Service Stars) Vietnam Campaign Medal