Michael Johnson, SB ‘80
CIO Award Judge 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
CIO Award Team Member 2018, 2017, 2016
Michael Johnson’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 and has consulted for 20 years specializing in business analysis and reporting solutions. As Massachusetts’ economy faltered in the 1980s, 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.
Mr. Johnson has served on the MIT Educational Council for 33 years, representing MIT to high school seniors applying for admission. As director of a major nonprofit, he chaired that 501(c)(3)’s Board committee on volunteer support, crafting policies to provide services to 25,000 members. He has been a member of the MIT Sloan CIO 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 also earned a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute (2004).