015. Admiral Mike "Wizzard" McCabe. The real Top Gun. A leader of leaders and yet humble and kind‪!‬ Voice of a Lion

Admiral Mike "Wizzard" McCabe
Mike McCabe
A Historic Leader With a Passion for
Transformation and Innovation
As head of all Naval Aviation, Admiral
oversaw some of the deepest technological
shifts and changes at the U.S. Navy. He ensured
thousands of military personnel would be ready for these
transformations and managed the budgets that supported
these key innovations and changes. His career was
driven by one motivation: sustaining a culture of excellence while caring for his
people. He is eager to share these leadership values of care, action and
innovation with today’s decision makers.
Mike is a highly decorated, experienced leader, former admiral
and corporate CEO, who teaches others to lead and teams to
reach their potential.
He draws inspiration from his father, a World War II Navy pilot and early jet pilot,
who was killed deploying to the Korean War. Eighteen months after graduating
college, Mike was flying combat missions under the mentorship of one of the
original Top Gun Instructors. He became the Executive Officer of Top Gun
himself, and the two combined again to consult for the movie “Top Gun”.
Mike commanded at every operational level of the Navy, including the
Commander of the US 3rd Fleet. In these commands, he was able to achieve
excellence, while suffering no operational loss of life. His combat decorations
include the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross. Mike also served as the
Director of Air Warfare for the Navy with oversight to the entire Naval Aviation
budgets, in which capacity he was in the Pentagon when the terrorist attack
struck the building directly below his office. During that tour, he was largely
responsible for the next generation of naval aviation technology, aircraft and
aircraft carriers.
Following Navy retirement, he became the CEO/President of a large Commercial
Charter Airline. He grew the airline into a multi-hundreds of million dollar
business. He left the airline and retired a second time to battle cancer. Mike had
the honor of recently speaking to a teaching hospital where his daughter was
graduating from her surgical residency and she is a practicing cancer surgeon.
Having survived air combat, the 9/11 attacks, and cancer, Mike embodies the
spirit of gratitude and lives in a “pay it forward mode” bringing his storied
experience and passion to helping teams and leaders