Michael G. Cato

Chief Information Officer (CIO) & Information Technology (IT) Leader with a focus on Higher Education

ABOUT

As a Higher Education Chief Information Officer (CIO), I'm constantly amazed by the many ways Information Technology (IT) has the opportunity to help our institutions pursue and expand on our mission. I’ve had the honor to lead teams in large public universities as well as selective liberal arts colleges. Over my career I’ve lead teams committed to using information and technology to support the teaching, learning, and research missions in Higher Education. I consider myself a life-long student of leadership and I’m an advocate of the approaches of inclusive leadership, “…leadership that assures that all team members feel they are treated respectfully and fairly, are valued and sense that they belong, and are confident and inspired” (Harvard Business Review).

My professional activities reflect a focus on developing leaders with an emphasis on the array of opportunities and challenges around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I'm also a firm believer in the Peter Drucker adage “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast.” On a personal level, I’m humbled to be raising an awesome toddler son with my partner and wife Heather. Among my passions are a love for learning, reading, eating, occasionally cooking, and I begin most weekdays being humbled by a CrossFit class. 

I’ve had the privilege to teach in IT leadership programs across the US and Australia and serve on a number of non-profit boards. I currently serve as a faculty member in the EDUCAUSE Leadership Institute and the Council of Australasian University Directors of Information Technology (CAUDIT) Institute, and I’m a member of the Society for Information Management (SIM) and the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF). Additionally, I serve on the board for the American Institute for the Biological Sciences (AIBS) and the Northeast Computing Association (NERCOMP). I am an alum of the Educause Leading Change/Frye Fellow program and an alum of the Leadership North Carolina program. My academic degrees are a B.S. in Zoology from Andrews University and an M.B.A. from Wake Forest University.

CORE COMPETENCIES

  • Inclusive Leadership

  • Cultivating Teamwork

  • Building Collaborative Relationships

  • Developing Others

  • Leading Change

  • Persuasive Communication

  • Influencing Others

  • Analytical Thinking

  • Strategic Thinking

  • Fostering Innovation

Based on "The Value-Added Employee," by Edward J. Cripe and Richard S. Mansfield.

EDUCATION 

Master of Business Administration (MBA) – 2010
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

Bachelor of Science Zoology – 1994
Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Fellow, Frye Leadership Institute (now the Leading Change Institute) – 2012
The Council on Library and Information Resources, EDUCAUSE and Emory University

Project Management Professional Development – 2008-2010
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation Certification – 2007
Global Knowledge Training

Graduate, Class XIII – 2006
Leadership North Carolina

Certificate of Leadership – 2004
Duke University