Clayton was born in San Benito, TX, graduated from high school in Angleton, TX, and earned his undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
During his Army career, he was assigned to 10th Mountain Division and Special Operations Task Force 17. He earned his Airborne and Air Assault wings, and graduated as the Honor Graduate from the US Army Ranger School. Clayton served as an Infantry Officer. He medically retired as a Captain due to wounds sustained during an improvised explosive attack while conducting a night raid to kill or capture Al Qaeda in Iraq.
His military decorations include the Combat Infantryman Badge, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Meritorious Service Medal.
After serving in the military, Clayton worked for the Joint IED Defeat Organization and with various non-profit organizations in Washington, D.C. Clayton is an ambassador to the Vail Veterans Program and a past board member to the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
Clayton earned a master’s degree from Georgetown University, completed continuing executive education at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management and is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program at Babson College.
He was the founder, President and CEO of USi which was acquired by Ignite in 2016. After working for Ignite as Chief Marketing Officer for three years, Clayton became President and COO of Systems, Products, Solutions, Inc., a global aviation and ground systems logistics company primarily supporting Department of Defense readiness efforts.
Clayton and his wife, Leslie, have two daughters, Lana (7) and Lisa (4,) and live in Huntsville, AL.
