Mike Hayes

Leadership is tested not in planning sessions but in the moments when the plan falls apart. Few people have faced more of those moments across more different contexts than Mike Hayes. Over the past three decades, he has commanded a 2,000-person Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan, managed a presidential foreign policy crisis from the White House Situation Room, led worldwide operations at a Fortune 200 technology company through a $94 billion acquisition, and now deploys capital as a Managing Director at Insight Partners, one of the world’s leading software investment firms. What connects those experiences isn’t the drama — it’s what Hayes learned about building organizations that perform under pressure, and his ability to make those lessons concrete for the leaders in the room.

Mike Hayes spent 20 years as a Navy SEAL officer, graduating as one of 19 from a class of 120 in training, then serving in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan before finishing his military career as Commanding Officer of SEAL Team TWO. His decorations include the Bronze Star for valor in Iraq and a second Bronze Star for Afghanistan. Selected as a White House Fellow in 2008 — a program for which he later received the 2022 IMPACT Award — he went on to serve two years as Director for Defense Policy and Strategy at the National Security Council under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In that role, he flew to Moscow to negotiate the START Treaty and led the U.S. government’s response to the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, the first major foreign policy crisis of the Obama presidency.

In the private sector, Hayes has held senior roles at Bridgewater Associates, Cognizant Technologies, and VMware, where as Chief Operating Officer he led worldwide operations and the company’s successful $94 billion acquisition into Broadcom. He now serves as Managing Director at Insight Partners, overseeing a portfolio that spans more than 800 software companies globally. He sits on the boards of Alight, Immuta, and several Insight portfolio companies, and is a founding board member of the National Medal of Honor Museum.

Hayes is the author of two national bestsellers. “Never Enough: A Navy SEAL Commander on Living a Life of Excellence, Agility, and Meaning” draws on his military and professional career to build a framework around excellence, agility, and purpose. “Mission Driven: The Path to a Life of Purpose” — praised by Jamie Dimon as “a powerful blueprint for leading with integrity, resilience, and purpose” — offers a practical guide for navigating life’s major transitions. Hayes donates all author and speaking profits to the 1162 Foundation, a 501(c)(3) he founded that pays off mortgages for Gold Star families. To date, the Foundation has paid off 13 homes. He holds an M.A. in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School, is fluent in German and Spanish, and is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Hayes is a sought-after speaker who frequently speaks on leadership, what it really means to be elite, how to build or transform organizations and culture, organizational resilience, finding mission and purpose, and he leaves every audience ready to act.

Mike Hayes is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.