Michael Montelongo

Michael Montelongo is a Lecturer of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches Managing Service Operations in the MBA elective curriculum that shows how to effectively design, manage, and improve service organizations by focusing on the intersection of leadership, strategy, marketing, and operations. He has an extensive background in service industries ranging from facilities, hospitality, and food services to telecommunications and to aerospace and defense, including government service in the military, the U.S. Senate, the Pentagon, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He has previously served as an assistant professor teaching economics and political science at West Point.

Montelongo is the founder of GRC Advisory Services, LLC, a private firm specializing in board governance, risk management, and compliance matters. Most recently he was Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Vice President for Sodexo, Inc (Euronext: SW). A sought-after board governance speaker, panelist and thought leader, audit committee financial expert, and National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow, Montelongo serves on corporate and nonprofit boards including Civeo Corporation (NYSE: CVEO), Conduent Inc (NASDAQ: CNDT), and the NACD. He is also on the faculties of the NACD, Thayer Leadership, and the Latino Corporate Director’s Education Foundation’s Board Ready Institute (BRI).

Montelongo is a former Bush White House appointee who served as the 19th Assistant Secretary for Financial Management and Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Air Force and the first Latino in that role managing a budget of over $120 billion and financing two major combat operations for the world’s largest military aviation and space force. He concluded his tenure at the Pentagon as acting secretary of the Air Force and later served on the NASA Advisory Council. A national security, geopolitics, and public policy expert, Montelongo is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Before joining the Bush administration, Montelongo was an executive with a global management consulting firm, a regional telecommunications company, and completed a career in the U.S. Army and a Congressional Fellowship in the U.S. Senate.

A native of New York City’s Lower East Side and the first in his extended Mexican and Puerto Rican family to attend college, Montelongo earned his bachelor’s degree in science from West Point and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. Active in civic leadership, Montelongo volunteers for organizations that expand opportunities for young people, support community health and wellness, assist veterans, and promote national service. Besides military awards and the highest decorations for Exceptional Civilian Service in the Air Force and NASA, Montelongo’s positive impact on the directorship and Latino communities has been widely recognized in several national Hispanic/Latino publications and board governance journals.

Montelongo and his wife, Sedona, reside in Scottsdale, Arizona, and have one daughter and three grandchildren.