Michael Cole’s path to technology leadership began with an art degree and a job in graphic design. Front-end development led to solution architecture, then to a bigger ambition: bringing the solutions his teams built to more government customers.
In January 2020, he became GDIT’s CTO, Federal Civilian, a role he assumed just before the pandemic tested agencies’ ability to adapt.
Today, Cole focuses on making government services easier to use and less burdensome to deliver, from financial aid to safe travel and clean drinking water. In this Q&A, Cole discusses reusable digital solutions, AI’s role in supporting the workforce, his personal connection to the federal mission, and why he wants his legacy to be measured by the people he helps.
Can you provide a brief overview of your professional background and career progression?
My path to becoming CTO was anything but traditional. My passion has always been for creative approaches to life, to the point that I have an art degree and started out doing graphic design right out of college. That creative start pulled me into front-end application development, then into solution architecture, where I worked on mission-focused delivery contracts. Those experiences sparked a real desire to take the solutions we were building and expand them to help even more customers.
I stepped into the CTO role at the start of January 2020, which turned out to be quite the moment to take on a leadership job. I leaned on a mission-first mindset to guide our teams through some genuinely challenging times, all grounded in a culture of being a company with a soul.
Why was this the path you chose, and how influential was it to your career?
Honestly, I’d say the path chose me. What has always driven me is the desire to create real impact across government and to lead the teams who build those solutions. That drive is what kept pushing me into roles with more and more responsibility at every step along the way. Once in a technology role, I focused on learning as much as I could about the value of technology as an enabler of efficiency and mission delivery.
Do you have a personal connection to the current mission you support?
I have a very personal connection to the critical citizen services I support. My father served as a career government employee, with 27 years serving in the U.S. Air Force followed by a 20-year civil service career. Supporting the government mission felt like it was always in my future, as I lived it through my father’s work.
What are your current top priorities and responsibilities? How do these relate to your company’s overall mission and growth strategy?
I currently support Federal Civilian agencies, the government organizations so many citizens engage with and rely on – from financial aid to safe travel and clean drinking water. It’s these critical missions that drive my desire to make the experience better when engaging with government.
The team I lead today supports a smart government through technology solutions. I’m focused on first, harnessing GDIT’s investments in research & development and advanced technologies to make GDIT the go-to solutions provider for federal agencies. Secondly, developing and deploying modern, efficient and scalable technologies and solutions that reduce governments’ administrative burden and accelerate their missions. And third, identifying ways agencies can strengthen cross-government collaboration by delivering rapidly deployable, reusable digital solutions
Where do you and your team see growth opportunities in your field and what do you anticipate to be your customers’ top pain points?
Agencies need technology that brings clarity, speed and a sharp focus on the mission. Creating the next era of intelligent, secure and human-centered modernization across federal, state and local government is our north star. We support an improved citizen experience that requires less resources and reduces the administrative burden for government employees and increases reusability across agencies and services.
How are you and your team planning to address and prepare for these opportunities?
My team and I are staying focused on a few key initiatives. We continue to leverage AI as a workforce multiplier. We are implementing cybersecurity solutions that enhance business operations rather than getting in their way. And we are delivering modern, product-like application development that brings solutions to mission needs quickly and securely.
How important is mentorship & networking in GovCon? Were they influential to your career?
I was once asked what I want my legacy to be, and it stuck with me. I want to be remembered for the impact I had on people – helping them with their careers, helping them navigate challenges inside and outside of work and being the person people want to work for, and more importantly, someone who helped them reach their own goals. That kind of impact only happens through mentoring and networking. I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the personal mentors who saw my potential and advocated for me to step into bigger roles. So now, my goal is to pay that forward to others.
What is something most people don’t know about you personally?
I am a Star Wars-loving, F1-watching, Jeep-driving, former professional bowler who has a deep love of family, all while serving as CTO. I can genuinely say that I love what I do.