Michael Johnson, SB ‘80

Symposium Roles
CIO Award Judge 2017, 2016, 2015
CIO Award Team Member 2017, 2016
Bio

Mike’s career began in aerospace engineering, developing systems for airliners and alternative energy vehicles. As design optimization, predictive modeling and business software tools emerged, so did his interests. He joined a top 1985 IPO, has consulted for 20 years specializing in business analysis and reporting solutions and concurrently, is a private investor in apartment complexes. As Massachusetts’ economy faltered in the ’80s, chronic infrastructure issues with embedded public policy challenges intrigued him. With solutions sometimes technical in nature, he ran for Mayor of a medium-sized city determined to define problems and setup step-by-step solutions, while evangelizing modernizing public sector data processing departments into innovative information services enterprises, facilitating responsible decision-making. Mike has served on the Educational Council for 33 years, representing MIT to high school seniors applying for admission. As Director of a major non-profit, he chaired that 501(c)(3)’s Board committee on volunteer support, crafting policies to provide services to 25,000 members. He mentors a Fulbright Scholar from Syria, accepted at three US PhD programs in economics with hopes of continuing her education, pending funding. Mike has been a member of the Symposium’s organizing team since 2005 and co-chaired the event in 2008. His education includes an SB in mechanical engineering from MIT (1980) and an MBA from Northeastern University’s High Technology Program (1986). He earned his PMP certification from the Project Management Institute (2004).