Always at the Right Place, Right Time
From Radio Shack kits in the 1980s to humanoid robots in the early 2020s — Mike has a way of being exactly where disruptive technology and innovation is about to happen.
The Origin Story
“Somewhere in Miami, circa 1980. An eight-year-old with a Radio Shack kit, a soldering iron, and a Heathkit radio quietly began his engineering education. The adults in the room had no idea what they were watching.”
Early Bulletin Board Days
“Computer lab, early 1990s. Two industry legends stopped by to coach a promising teenager on the then-brand-new iMac. They said he was a natural. Mike said he was just trying to get online.”
Make the Internet Global
“Late 1990s. A small group gathered at a chalkboard with an ambitious idea: connect every computer on earth. Mike contributed the packet routing diagram on the right. History credits the others.”
Y2K: All Systems Nominal
“December 31, 1999. The world held its breath waiting for civilization to collapse. Mike's screen said ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL. He was already thinking about 2001.”
Antarctica Communications Link
“McMurdo Station, Antarctica, mid-2000s. When scientists at the bottom of the earth needed a satellite uplink, they called Mike. He showed up in an orange parka and got it done.”
Racking Up the Private Cloud
“University of Miami, early 2010s. While researchers mapped ocean temperatures and tracked hurricanes from space, Mike kept the high-performance data center humming beneath it all — the infrastructure behind the science, secured and never missed a cycle.”
From Startup to NYSE
“Chewy HQ, pandemic era. While the world locked down and pet adoptions surged, Mike kept the security infrastructure of a fast-scaling e-commerce rocket ship running — from scrappy startup to publicly traded company, the dogs and cats never noticed the chaos.”
The Robot Incident
“SpaceX/Tesla facility, 2024. The Optimus v2.0 status remained classified. Mike found the whole thing hilarious. The other guy is still not sure what went wrong.”
Strategic Security Leader.
Business-Aligned. Board-Ready.
Mike Anderson is a seasoned, CISO-caliber security executive with 30+ years of progressive leadership at the intersection of cloud security, Zero Trust architecture, GRC, and enterprise risk strategy. He has built and scaled security programs across higher education, managed security services, and high-growth e-commerce — translating technical risk into measurable business outcomes at every stage.
As Associate Director of Security Engineering at Chewy, Mike directs an end-to-end security engineering function spanning CNAPP/CSPM (Wiz), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) at CISA advanced maturity, identity and access management, DevSecOps, and data governance via Microsoft Purview — across AWS and GCP environments supporting millions of customers. He has driven $534K in security tooling savings and earned the Wiz Zero Critical Vulnerability award, demonstrating that rigorous security and operational efficiency are not competing objectives.
With deep expertise across AI security and governance, cloud-native application protection, vulnerability management, incident response, and third-party risk — and backed by CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, and CGEIT certifications — Mike brings the strategic breadth and quantified delivery record that modern enterprise security leadership demands.
Measurable Impact
Security leadership measured in outcomes — not just programs delivered, but results that show up on the balance sheet and in threat posture.
ROI assessment of security tooling stack — eliminated 4 underperforming solutions at Chewy
Deployed Appgate Zero Trust ZTNA at pandemic onset, enabling secure remote access in days
Cloud Readiness Reviews for AWS migration — from monolithic app to microservices at Chewy
Netskope CASB deployment across Chewy endpoints for cloud app security and DLP enforcement
Zero Trust program advanced to CISA's highest maturity tier across perimeter, IAM, and network segmentation
Wiz "Zero Critical Vulnerability" vendor award — sustained comprehensive remediation across AWS + GCP
Enterprise Security Program Leadership
A rare combination of hands-on technical depth and executive program leadership — spanning cloud-native security, Zero Trust, GRC, AI governance, and cross-functional risk strategy.
Information Security
- Security Architecture & Design
- CNAPP / CSPM (Wiz — AWS + GCP)
- Zero Trust — CISA Advanced Maturity
- Incident Response & Forensics
- Microsoft Purview / DLP / DRM
GRC & Compliance
- NIST CSF 2.0 & PCI 4.0
- SOC2, HIPAA, FISMA
- Risk & Vulnerability Management
- Insider Threat Programs
- Third-Party Risk Management
Enterprise Networking
- Palo Alto / Cisco / Juniper Firewalls
- Multi-campus WAN/LAN Design
- SD-WAN, SASE & Zero Trust NA
- IAM & Network Segmentation
- BGP, OSPF, MPLS Routing
Cloud & Infrastructure
- AWS & GCP Cloud Security
- Cloud Readiness Reviews (200+)
- DevSecOps / Shift-Left Security
- Data Center Design & Operations
- CI/CD Pipeline Security Integration
Automation & Analytics
- n8n / Zapier Workflow Automation
- Python & Jupyter Notebooks
- MCP Server Integration & APIs
- Agile / Scrumban / Kanban
- Metrics & Executive Reporting
Executive Leadership & Strategy
- Enterprise Security Program Design & Execution
- Board-Level Risk Communication
- AI Security & AI Governance Programs
- Digital Risk Strategy & Roadmapping
- Budget Optimization & ROI Accountability
Certified Across Every Discipline
The alphabet soup behind the name — each one earned through demonstrated expertise.
Certified by
University of Miami, Three Times Over
Staying Ahead of the Curve
Active investment in AI security, machine learning, and emerging technology — because the threat landscape doesn't wait.
Let's Solve Hard Problems
Open to select CISO, VP and Director Security opportunities. South Florida preferred, remote or hybrid considered. If your organization needs someone who can lead strategy, get hands-on, and deliver results — let's talk.