Pattern Recognition
Finds coupling, dependencies, and failure modes that don't show up in documentation. Correlates data across disconnected systems to surface what's actually happening vs. what people think is happening.
Mike Stafford
Strategic Technology Leader
Systems Architect & Human Systems Reader
M&A Integration | IT/OT Convergence
Holland, Michigan | Remote-First
"I find the million-dollar risks hiding in plain sight - whether they're buried in systems, processes, or the things people aren't saying."
15+
Years Enterprise Experience
Manufacturing, healthcare, PE portfolio companies, tribal enterprises. Scale-agnostic.
$50K→20hrs
Entra Migration
Vendor quoted $50K; scripted it in ~20 hours with automation tooling.
$300K/yr
Savings Identified
Business case for IT internalization documented three years running.
Days→Real-Time
Quality Transformation
Paper-based tracking to real-time MES. Still in production 10+ years later.
Multi-Domain
Data Correlation
Frameworks connecting HR, production, quality, machine, and financial data.
Shop→Boardroom
Trusted Advisor
Equally comfortable troubleshooting with technicians or presenting to PE partners.
The Engine Underneath
Here's why I operate differently - the cognitive architecture that enables the outcomes you just saw.
Perceptual Reasoning
96th percentile
Working Memory
77th percentile
Verbal Comprehension
58th percentile
Processing Speed
77th percentile
"The asymmetry is the asset. Rapid holistic pattern detection rather than sequential verbal processing."
96th percentile visual-spatial reasoning (PRI: 127)
Processes complex systems in parallel, not sequentially
Finds root causes while others chase symptoms
Decision hygiene: explicit assumptions, pre-mortems, second-order risk checks - catches biases in real-time
Assessment: WAIS-IV cognitive battery, September 2025, Dr. Shannon Connell (licensed neuropsychologist)
What This Actually Means
Bridging from "interesting cognitive profile" to "here's what I do for your business" - both analytical AND human capabilities.
Systems Thinking
Holds IT, OT, operations, and organizational dynamics in one mental model - sees how changes cascade across technical and human systems.
Data Correlation & Integration
Bridges systems that don't talk to each other. Work tickets to invoices, production data to quality metrics, CRM to operations. Finds the gaps and the money left on the table.
Room-Reading & Political Navigation
Detects unvoiced concerns, misalignment, and organizational dynamics before they surface as problems. Figures out what's not being said. Trusted advisor across all levels.
Influence-Based Leadership
Drives outcomes through trust, expertise, and stakeholder alignment rather than hierarchical authority. Navigates from shop floor to boardroom with equal fluency.
Trusted Stabilizer
High emotional intelligence applied to organizational dynamics. The person executives bring in when things get tense. Creates space where people can be honest without fear.
Strategic Foresight
Identifies risks and opportunities 6-18 months before they surface. Runs scenarios, spots second-order effects.
Cross-Domain Fluency
Walks into unfamiliar territory, gets productive fast, adapts to what's actually needed. Manufacturing, healthcare, PE, tribal enterprises - different contexts, same rapid orientation.
Calm Under Pressure
When everything's on fire, stays clear on priorities and keeps moving. Incident command mindset.
Where I Create Value
Highest Leverage
M&A Technology Due Diligence
Find the hidden technical debt, integration risks, and organizational landmines before you close. Deliver investment-committee-ready reports with quantified risk and 100-day action plans.
Fractional CIO/CISO
Strategic technology leadership without the full-time overhead. Roadmapping, vendor evaluation, risk oversight, board-ready reporting. A few hours a week, high-impact decisions.
IT/OT Convergence Strategy
Bridge the gap between manufacturing/operational systems and IT infrastructure. Most consultants know one side - I speak both languages fluently.
Strong Fit
Post-Acquisition Integration
Stabilize the tech environment, identify quick wins, build the 90-day integration roadmap. Been the steady hand during chaotic transitions.
Data Correlation & Process Analysis
Bridge disconnected systems to find revenue leakage, process gaps, and operational blind spots. Turn messy data into actionable insight.
Technology Strategy & Roadmapping
Current state assessment, business-IT alignment, prioritized initiative planning.
Crisis Response
When systems fail and nobody knows what's happening - incident command, triage, recovery coordination.
Engagement Models
Retainer-Based Advisory
8-20 hours/month of strategic guidance
Project-Based Engagements
Defined scope with clear deliverables
Interim Leadership
Stability during transitions
Professional Track Record
IT Operations & Cybersecurity Manager
Waséyabek Development Company, LLC
IT infrastructure and cybersecurity leadership for tribal enterprise portfolio
- Led infrastructure transformation across portfolio companies - hardening, segmentation, SIEM implementation
- Built incident response capability from scratch: runbooks, alert triage rules, escalation paths. Dramatically faster detection and response
- Achieved NIST 800-171 compliance posture for organizations handling sensitive data
- Mentored and built cybersecurity team capability; integrated AI-driven threat detection tooling
- Cross-functional influence across portfolio companies without direct authority
Director of Information Technology
RSI Manufacturing
IT strategy and operations for mid-market manufacturer. Operated as ownership's #2 for a decade - hybrid IT Director/COO influence.
- Scaled infrastructure to 3x capacity while reducing unplanned downtime - architecture that could grow with the business
- Architected ERP and real-time analytics platform - moved decision-making from gut feel to data-driven
- Negotiated vendor contracts for significant annual savings through strategic sourcing
- Cross-functional leadership across production, logistics, and finance - not just IT in a silo
- Became the person people came to when ownership wasn't available. Troubleshooting, process improvement, strategic thinking, keeping things moving
Chief Technology Officer
Production Software Integrated, LLC
Software startup - SaaS manufacturing execution system (MES)
- Led product development from concept through production deployment
- Built software that reduced customer quality defects by giving real-time production visibility
- Applied enterprise architecture thinking to startup context - sustainable, not just fast
- Cross-functional collaboration across development, sales, and customer implementation
Credentials
Industry certifications and demonstrated outcomes over academic credentials. 15 years of continuous learning in a field that reinvents itself every few years.
Best Fit
Where I'm Most Valuable
- Complex environments with multiple moving parts and competing priorities
- Situations requiring rapid orientation and adaptation - walking into chaos and making sense of it
- Strategic decisions with technical implications where someone needs to translate across domains
- M&A, integration, transformation - anything with ambiguity and stakes
- Organizations that value outcomes over process theater
- Teams that want honesty, even when it's uncomfortable
Probably Not the Best Use of My Time
- Compliance documentation and checkbox auditing I architect security programs and identify risk; I don't write the procedural artifacts to satisfy an auditor's checklist.
- Routine operations and ticket queues I'm built for novel problems and strategic work, not steady-state maintenance.
- Hands-on implementation without strategic scope I can build, but my highest value is in designing, directing, and connecting dots.
- Bureaucratic environments If process matters more than outcomes, we'll both be frustrated.
This isn't about what's "beneath me." It's about fit and ROI. You're paying for pattern recognition, systems thinking, and strategic judgment. Using that to fill out compliance templates is like using a surgeon to apply band-aids.
How I Work
Growth Partner, Not Break-Fix
I'm not here to get calls at 3am when things break. I want to work alongside you to build systems, improve processes, and make your business more profitable and efficient. Where should we spend effort? What moves the needle? That's the conversation I want to be in.
Remote-First
Based in Holland, MI. Available for travel when it makes sense, especially for initial relationship-building or critical moments.
Async-Preferred
Complex insights come out clearer in writing. I do my best thinking with time to process and articulate. Happy to jump on calls when real-time is needed, but don't expect me to be the fastest talker in the room - expect me to be the most thoughtful.
Direct But Not Harsh
I tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. But I do it in a way that lands. Honesty with empathy. You'll never wonder where you stand with me.
The Quiet Stabilizer
I've been called this more than once. When things get sideways, I'm the person who shows up and somehow makes people feel like it's going to be okay. Not through cheerleading - through competence and calm.
Trust is the Foundation
I create space where people can be honest without fear of it backfiring. If someone's frustrated or struggling, I hear that as information, not as a problem to escalate. That's how you actually fix things.
Strategic Scope
I map the system, identify the risks, design the architecture. Your team handles execution, or I can help coordinate resources. I stay involved for decision points, not status meetings.
Engagement Through
Direct Engagement
For advisory and consulting work
HAIDEN Technologies
For larger projects and ongoing partnerships
Where This Goes
These are the functional roles this experience and capability set points toward - whether as formal titles or as the work within fractional/advisory engagements.
Fractional CIO / CISO / CTO
PE Operating Partner (Technology)
IT/OT & Integration Advisor
Digital Resilience Lead
M&A Technology Integration Lead
Building a portfolio of ongoing advisory relationships - companies that get strategic technology leadership without the full-time overhead. High trust, high impact, sustainable engagement.
Let's Talk
See a fit? Have a complex problem? Just want to connect? Reach out - I read everything.
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