Hi, I’m Mike Ross
Fractional CTO. Systems Strategist. Startup Rescuer. Interpreter of chaos.
For over two decades, I’ve helped companies navigate the uncertain space between vision and reality — translating bold ideas into working systems that scale.
At Amazon, I led programs that transformed how the company hires over 800,000 people annually. At Microsoft, I served as virtual CTO to HCA Healthcare, where I guided a $268M cloud transformation and led one of the largest Windows 10 rollouts in the U.S., modernizing infrastructure across 200K+ endpoints and uniting stakeholders across clinical, technical, and executive domains.
But my roots run deeper than titles.
I’ve built and rebuilt startups from the ground up. I’ve led distributed engineering teams for over two decades. I’ve stepped into failing initiatives when others walked away — and helped founders, investors, and engineers find their way forward.
I speak many languages: boardroom and backlog, code and capital, nervous system and systems architecture. My strength isn’t just knowing what to build — it’s knowing how to get every layer of the organization aligned to build it well.
I live just outside Nashville, where I still moonlight as a keyboard player in local bands — because every good system needs rhythm. And every real leader needs soul.