People.Agile.Technology.

About me

Servant leader with successful track record of growing engineering teams and building IT infrastructure for Fortune 50 companies and startups. Core strengths include managing complex, multi-faceted projects, and building high performing, autonomous teams.

LEADERSHIP

100%

SECURITY

85%

AGILE

95%

TECHNOLOGY

80%

COMPLIANCE

100%

Updated Resume

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Services

Twenty five years in business and technology has afforded me the chance to collect tools, practices (that work) and techniques to help my clients. How can I help?

On-time delivery

Managing projects and roadmaps to a timeline.

DevOps

Growing a culture of automation and autonomy is the key to high performance teams.

Clean design

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Software Development

Designing and creating software solutions starts with the team and ends with customer value.

Cloud controls

Infrastructure as code enables quick builds and ephemeral resources.

Compliance and Governance

Policies and laws require strong governance and compliance.

What People Say About Mike

``Measure My Success By The Teams I Create.``

Linda

I had the pleasure to work with Mike back in my OptumRx days. Mike was like a mentor to me. I was a fairly new manager at the time. Being on the same team, he was my go-to person whenever I run into difficult situations. He knows how to inspire and is a great strategic leader. He is incredibly knowledgeable in the agile framework and always has many creative ideas and approaches to everything, from solving business problems to presenting an idea. Within 2 weeks of having Mike on the team, he had us do a skit in a UHG conference at Dreamforce instead of a traditional PowerPoint slides. There is never a dull moment with Mike around. he is a great deal of fun to be around. He is a coach at heart and a visionary leader.

Shadan

Michael is one the best mentors and managers I have ever had. He lives Agile by example and that is the reason why I believe his hiring process is one the best and unique practices I had ever seen in my 18 years experience. The Interview process basically was using Agile to hire Agile people, starting with a questionary which was focused on my Agile behaviors, not certifications or references. During interview he would create a situation and I had to respond in an Agile way which made me think as Agile of a way of working. That is why when I joined his team of scrum masters, they were the best in the market. Way to go Michael, I wish you could teach this hiring process to other companies struggling to hire Agile experts.

Paul

I have worked with many superior managers around the globe and I can easily place Mike among them. He personifies the management mantra: "Measure my performance by the success of the team I lead and you will find great value." Attributes that come to mind when I think of Mike's work ethic and style are: contagiously optimistic, a man of action, respectful, teachable, proactive, and an advocate for the growth and maturity of his entire team. Our work together can be summed up with the words, "a pleasure."

Matt

For the past year I've had the privilege to work for Mike Birkhead. Mike is a personable, friendly and trustworthy professional who is truly an inspirational leader for his team. Mike encourages innovation on the team and puts his support behind any projects we create and ideas we have to improve our system and team. I can't ever recall Mike saying "you can't do that", instead he challenges us to think in different, more productive ways that encourage collaboration and team building. He’s organized the best team I have ever worked with and earned the trust and support of the entire team, without exception. Mike is an exceptional leader and I recommend him wholeheartedly to any organization ready to excel.

Keerthi

I have been working with mike for more than 2 years who supports the team in every aspect and motivates them. Introduced us to the world of Agile methodology, Dev Ops and more. Always eager to learn new features, Big supporter of innovations and introduces it to the team. Encouraged team to receive training on new technology and provide a platform to educate ourselves . Always there to listen to your concerns and remove roadblocks to achieve the best product and support our customers. Always customer oriented and guided team to achieve their goal 100%. Mike has the rare quality of being positive and spread his infectious positive smile around him . Working with him made me be more dynamic and adapt to new changes quickly withe ease. Always happy to be work along with him.

Samsheeth

Self organizing teams don’t happen by chance. Mike has transformed a small non-agile team handling one project into an efficient self organizing team handling multiple. I had the pleasure of working with Mike for a little over two years and have seen him making a difference through out. Mike is a natural leader and the “go to person” whenever anyone has any questions or concerns. He responds right away and makes sure the issues have been resolved. He always looks out for his team and since his induction, the company has seen many more ups. Mike understands that great leadership is about equipping and inspiring others to do what inspires them. I am lucky to have worked with Mike, a manager who is not only interested in the company’s bottom line, but also in his employees’ professional growth. He would be an asset to any team.