Leadership
Michael K. Tanner
Michael helps businesses transform bold vision and technology innovation into market traction and revenue growth. His leadership experience spans product management, marketing, and sales, and executive-level advisory work, helping over 100 companies through market-defining launches, rapid expansion, and complex corporate transformations.
His core strength is commercializing breakthrough technology—developing new markets, accelerating customer adoption, and translating strategy into successful revenue growth:
- Executive Leadership: Served in critical executive roles at high-growth companies, including as CEO of Bamboo Solutions, VP of Marketing and Products at Carrier iQ, VP Strategy and Corporate Development at M-Files, and SVP of Marketing at the $1B+ proptech unicorn Lessen.
- The Silicon Valley Era: Co-founded The Chasm Group in the mid-1990s, building go-to-market playbooks for over 100 industry-defining tech leaders and startups.
- Board and Advisory: Served as an outside director on the boards of companies ranging from startups to over $100M in sales. He also served on advisory boards of several businesses focused on new venture launches and turnaround strategies.
Michael began his career in engineering automation software—gaining pivotal experience across product, sales, and marketing for both startups and market leaders. Today he leverages that foundation as a fractional CMO, advisor, and go-to-market partner who bridges the gap between strategic vision and execution and drives commercial results.
Michael holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Rivier College. He is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Experience
- SVP Marketing, Lessen
- Fractional CMO, Chief Outsiders
- VP Strategy and Corporate Development, M-Files
- VP Marketing and Products, CarrierIQ
- Co-founder and Managing Director, The Chasm Group
- Startup CSO/CMO, Edge Communications
- Strategic MCAD Market Manager, Autodesk
Education
- BS Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University
- MBA, Rivier College
Board Experience
- Innovatics (Advisory Board), AI and Business Intelligence services
- Savi Technology, RFID Asset Tracking and Logistics (Acquired by Lockheed Martin)
- Apexion, Surgical Instrument Tracking (Acquired by JD Edwards)
- Bamboo Solutions, SharePoint components and solutions
- DATallegro (Advisory Board), Data Warehousing Appliance, Acquired by Microsoft
What Leaders Say About Michael's Impact
“I had the pleasure of working with and learning from Mike Tanner. He has excellent communication and leadership skills and works unselfishly with others to help achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. He has a broad base of experience in all facets of the business as well as a wonderful work ethic. He always performs with the highest degree of integrity.”
Prior CRO, Edge Communications
“I had the privilege of working with Michael during his time as SVP of Marketing at Lessen, and I can confidently say he is more than an exceptional marketing leader. His expertise spans digital marketing, GTM strategy, messaging, data analysis, advertising, product marketing, and much more. What truly sets him apart, however, is his ability to seamlessly connect marketing disciplines into cohesive, results-driven strategies that align with broader business objectives.
“Michael joined CarrieriQ as interim VP of Marketing and Product and quickly became a trusted part of the leadership team. Michael got up to speed fast while also bringing significant strategic and business development skills developed from his management and consulting experience.”
Prior CEO, Carrier iQ
