As technology gets more complex,
strategic leadership matters more than ever.
When companies grow, technology decisions become more expensive, more connected, and more consequential. Systems need to scale. Cyber risk needs ownership. Vendors need direction and oversight. IT teams need priorities and guidance. AI creates opportunity — but also confusion.
As Your Fractional CIO, Mike Tennant, brings senior-level technology leadership into the business, helping you move from reactive IT decisions to a clear, practical, business-aligned plan.
Get to Know Your Fractional CIO
Proven IT leadership. Practical executive guidance.
Mike brings more than 20 years of progressive IT leadership experience across complex, high-pressure operating environments, including financial services, real estate and asset management, higher education, retail, SaaS technology, global customer operations, and regulated manufacturing. His background spans enterprise infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud strategy, AI enablement, service delivery, IT governance, disaster recovery, vendor oversight, and business-critical applications.
For clients, that depth matters. A fractional CIO is not simply an advisor who understands technology. The role requires someone who can connect technology decisions to business outcomes, manage risk, guide teams, challenge vendors, prioritize investments, and communicate clearly with executives, owners, boards, and operational leaders.
Mike has led IT strategy and roadmap development for multi-entity organizations, overseen infrastructure across hundreds of locations, managed service desk, systems engineering, enterprise applications, AI, and IT security teams, and chaired cybersecurity and IT governance committees. His experience includes creating cloud, cybersecurity, data governance, and OSFI-aligned policy frameworks, as well as rearchitecting technology infrastructure, staffing models, and operational processes.
He has also built and transformed IT functions from the ground up, including establishing department strategy, budgets, teams, service models, help desk structures, ITIL-based processes, and technology standards. In academic and research environments, he supported complex stakeholder needs across multiple departments and institutes, including cybersecurity and technology support for approximately $40 million in awarded research grants.
Across retail, SaaS, global operations, and regulated manufacturing environments, Mike has led technology modernization, infrastructure redesign, cybersecurity improvement, service management transformation, application refreshes, and IT team development. He has managed teams ranging from specialized technical groups to large multi-site organizations, with responsibility for infrastructure, telecom, networks, enterprise applications, cloud systems, security, service desk operations, and business continuity.
His credentials reinforce that practical leadership experience. Mike holds ITIL V3 and V4 Foundations, Certified Information Security Manager, Certified in Cybersecurity, strategic management, project management, data governance, cybersecurity risk, and management designations, with ongoing development in AI safety, AI governance, and CISSP.
What this means for clients
Mike understands the real-world pressures facing growing organizations: rising cyber risk, aging infrastructure, disconnected systems, unclear IT priorities, vendor complexity, AI uncertainty, and the need to get more business value from technology investments. His strength is bringing order to that complexity.
As a fractional CIO, he helps leadership teams move from reactive IT decisions to a clear, business-aligned technology plan — one that improves resilience, reduces risk, strengthens teams, and supports growth.
A Seat at the Table
Mike’s advantage as a fractional CIO is that he has been at the table in the IT decision-maker's seat across varied sectors. He understands the pressure on leadership teams when technology is costly, fragmented, under-governed, or no longer keeping pace with the business. He brings calm, practical judgment to those moments — helping organizations understand what matters, what can wait, what creates risk, and where technology can deliver the greatest business value.
My Client Base
Is this Your Organization?
Your IT team is working hard, but not strategically.
Technology decisions are being made reactively.
Cybersecurity is a concern, but ownership is unclear.
Vendors are driving the agenda more than your business priorities.
You are considering AI, automation, cloud or system upgrades that need a practical road map.
You need senior IT leadership, but not a full-time CIO.
Need clearer technology leadership?
Let's talk about where your business is going, what technology needs to support, and where senior IT leadership could make the biggest difference.
01
Small and mid-sized businesses that have IT complexity but no executive IT leader
02
Founder-led or owner-managed companies that need more effective technology decisions
03
Scaling companies where systems, cybersecurity, vendors, and IT teams are becoming increasingly harder to manage
04
Companies preparing for growth to scale for a merger, acquisition, compliance needs, or AI transformation