Clayton Hinchman

Education and Army service

Robert Clayton Hinchman was born in San Benito, Texas, graduated from high school in Angleton, Texas, and earned his undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point. His biography published by Boots for the Brave and the biography on the Radiance Ignite Technologies website state that he served in the United States Army as an infantry officer assigned to the 10th Mountain Division and to "Special Operations Task Force 17," earned Airborne and Air Assault wings, and graduated as the honor graduate of United States Army Ranger School.¹² 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 listed decorations are the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal.¹²

Both biographies give his graduate education as a master's degree from Georgetown University, executive education at the Owen Graduate School of Management of Vanderbilt University, and completion of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Babson College.²

After the Army

After his military service Hinchman worked for the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization and with nonprofit organizations in Washington, D.C. He is described as an ambassador to the Vail Veterans Program and a past board member of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.¹ He founded and led USi, a Huntsville company that Ignite Fueling Innovation bought and merged on April 1, 2016; a Business Alabama report of July 20, 2017 names him Ignite's chief marketing officer under president and chief executive Jason Shelton.³⁴ He served about three years as chief marketing officer, then as president and chief operating officer of Systems, Products, Solutions, Inc. from 2019 to 2020.⁴ His Federal Election Commission filings give his employer as Ignite and his occupation as chief operating officer in 2017 and 2018 and chief marketing officer in January 2019.⁵

Ignite announced on May 22, 2020 that Hinchman would succeed Shelton as chief executive, with Shelton remaining chairman; the Radiance Ignite Technologies website says Hinchman "took over as Chairman and CEO of Ignite in May of 2020."⁶² A Huntsville directory lists him among the members of the Huntsville Committee of 100. His Federal Election Commission contributor entries from 2025 and 2026 give his employer as Black Patch Distilling Co. LLC.⁷

Radiance Ignite Technologies

Radiance Technologies and Ignite announced the joint venture Radiance Ignite Technologies on October 14, 2024 with Hinchman as president and chairman and Bill Bailey, Radiance's chief executive, as vice chairman. The Alabama Secretary of State record for the limited liability company (formed July 10, 2024) lists Hinchman as registered agent.²⁸

2018 congressional candidacy

Hinchman filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on June 20, 2017 as a Republican for Alabama's 5th congressional district, held by Mo Brooks (candidate H8AL05208; committee Hinchman for Congress, C00648162, treasurer Nicholas Ryan Rockhill). The committee reported 2018 receipts of $253,800.31, disbursements of $259,899.11, individual contributions of $130,537.50, contributions from other political committees of $22,762.81 and $100,000 in loans, and filed a termination report on July 5, 2019.⁵

Schedule A entries include $100,000 from Hinchman on March 30, 2018 (line 13A, a loan) and $1,033.08 from Hinchman on January 7, 2019 (line 11D); $250 on August 29, 2017 from Hinchman; $2,700 from Ignite Fueling Innovation Inc Federal PAC on May 18, 2017; $5,000 from the Radiance Technologies, Inc. Political Action Committee on March 21, 2018; $1,000 from the Dynetics Political Action Committee on August 28, 2017; and a net $16,547.62 in five entries (May 17 to June 27, 2018) from a committee named War Veterans Fund. Individual donors on the filings include Ignite president Brandon Umphrey ($500), Jason Shelton ($500), Ignite chief financial officer Trent Poff ($250), former Camber Corporation president Joseph Alexander ($1,000), COLSA Corporation president Richard Amos ($1,500) and Newsmax chief executive Christopher Ruddy ($500).⁵

In the Republican primary of June 5, 2018, Hinchman received 34,739 votes (38.7 percent) to 54,928 (61.3 percent) for Brooks across the district, a total of 89,667; in Madison County, Alabama the count was 25,516 to 15,791 and in Jackson County, Alabama 5,063 to 3,399.⁹

Political contributions after 2018

The Federal Election Commission lists a $2,500 contribution from Hinchman to Citizens for Turner, the committee of Representative Mike Turner, on June 27, 2024, nine days after Ignite's political action committee and the Radiance political action committee each gave the committee money (June 18, 2024). Ignite's earlier political action committee also gave $2,700 to the Senate campaign of Luther Strange on August 23, 2017.¹⁰

The Sol Foundation filings

Ignite, of which Hinchman was chief executive from May 2020, served as registered agent for an Alabama corporation named The Sol Foundation, formed September 23, 2022 and dissolved September 15, 2023; Ignite's registered agent of record at the time was Jason Shelton.¹¹