Meet Our Leadership

The team driving Patriot Consulting's mission to secure Microsoft environments at scale — Microsoft MVPs, veterans, and seasoned engineers committed to every customer they serve.

Joe Stocker

Founder & CEO
Microsoft Security MVP
Joe Stocker founded Patriot in 2015 and has grown it to become one of the most trusted names in Microsoft partners in the United States. Prior to Patriot, Joe was a consultant and helped more than 300 organizations migrate securely to Office 365. Joe is a Microsoft MVP in Security, author of the book "Securing Microsoft 365", speaker, blogger and podcaster in all things Microsoft Security. In his spare time Joe volunteers with several Microsoft programs including Microsoft's Defending Democracy (AccountGuard) program, Microsoft Tech for Social Impact, and the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA), which serves military service members desiring to transition into the civilian workspace. Joe lives in Tennessee and enjoys Church, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and spending time with family.

Samantha Hicks

Chief Operating Officer
Samantha has more than 15 years of IT Program/Project Management and Strategic Planning experience utilizing her master's degree in Project Management and Business Administration. Working in both the Software and Semi-Conductor industry, Samantha has many years of hands-on implementation experience — most recently managing Office 365 Suite programs from beginning to end, helping plan, design, and configure tenants with hybrid setups to support Skype for Business, Active Directory, Exchange, SharePoint/OneDrive, and Office Pro Plus. Her duties include IT Program/Project Management as the primary role and technical implementation across setup and configuration, data and systems analysis, testing, communications to users, and training and support. Samantha has a clear understanding of strategic and tactical project orientation and management and how to work closely with the business and end users for success across the organization.

Rick Cox

President
Rick Cox is responsible for all business development activities at Patriot Consulting, including Sales, Marketing, and Partner Relationships. As a member of the senior leadership team, Rick leads strategic initiatives focused on driving sustainable growth and expanding Patriot's impact in the Microsoft ecosystem. Prior to Patriot Consulting, Rick built a successful sales career with one of the largest Microsoft Licensing Resellers in the United States, where he developed deep expertise in Microsoft solutions, partner strategy, and enterprise client engagement. Rick holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI), a Certificate in Organizational Leadership from Harvard Business School, and additional team building and leadership certifications from Harvard and Arizona State University.

Zach Moore

General Manager, MXDR365
U.S. Marine Corps Veteran
Zach is the General Manager of MXDR365 by Patriot Consulting, where he leads the 24x7 managed Security Operations Center protecting organizations against today's evolving cyber threats. A United States Marine Corps veteran, Zach brings over a decade of hands-on cybersecurity experience and a mission-driven approach to defending customer environments. Before taking the helm of the SOC, Zach served as a Senior Security Architect at Patriot Consulting, where he deployed Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and M365 E5 Security solutions for more than 100 customers. He also led several complex incident response investigations, helping organizations contain threats and recover from security events. Prior to joining Patriot, Zach served as an Information Security Engineer at CKE Restaurants, where he was responsible for protecting the enterprise infrastructure of one of America's largest quick-service restaurant companies. Zach lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Keenie, and their son, Cru.

James Metcalfe

General Manager, SecureShield365
James Metcalfe serves as the SecureShield365 General Manager for Patriot Consulting. With more than 26 years of experience in enterprise IT leadership, James specializes in designing, securing, and optimizing Microsoft-based environments with a focus on identity, endpoint security, automation, and Microsoft 365 security solutions. Prior to joining Patriot, James led IT strategy, infrastructure, and analytics for a national organization, where he oversaw large-scale Microsoft 365 tenant consolidations, security modernization initiatives, and enterprise transformation programs. His background spans infrastructure engineering, operational governance, and security-focused architecture, with extensive experience aligning technology strategy to business outcomes and leading high-performing technical teams. James is passionate about helping organizations strengthen their security posture through practical, scalable solutions that enable long-term growth. He lives in Tennessee with his wife Tracy and daughter Autumn, and enjoys mountain biking, fishing, and working on home construction and handyman projects.