Denver Alumni Community Spotlight
High Altitude Achievements: Career Development Alumni Spotlight
Michael Cattanach ‘06
Climbing Peaks with Perseverance Leads to Success
Our next profile in our Denver alumni series is with Michigan-native Michael Cattanach ‘06. Mike the founder of Volo Ventures, a consulting company supporting a wide range of industries, from financial services to healthcare to airlines.
From the beginning, Mike shared that his career had a ping pong effect and he learned how to fail-fast. His first job was in coding, which took him to Chicago, but he quickly realized that was not his passion and wanted to be more connected to people. "I found my way to consulting and took a role with Diamond Management Consultants, which was then purchased by PwC. Consulting gave me a lot of problem-solving skills and soon, I was able to quickly put problems into frameworks and better engineer solutions for my clients”.
As he gained more experience and visibility to various industries, he realized he could go out on his own and build something in Colorado. Mike started Volo Ventures six years ago, as a way to put his experience to work for people passionate about solving challenges and fixing problems.
Mike was able to figure out his strengths and turn that into a passion spanning partnerships with many Fortune 100 companies. Whether consulting for United Airlines or American Express, his approach remained consistent: build strong relationships to understand a client's needs, and then tailor a solution to best support that audience. Consulting can be a demanding job but Mike enjoys the ability to always be a problem solver.
Due to the project-based nature of consulting, Mike works at two other companies, in addition to managing Volo. He wears the hat of CSO as a fractional executive at Cornerstone Agility, which provides strategic executive coaching. Mike also works for Mesh Digital, a company that takes a human-centered approach to delivering technology strategy for companies going through digital transformations.
Mike prioritizes staying connected with clients across multiple time zones from New York to Alaska. With multiple roles and responsibilities to juggle, Mike makes sure he has time for himself and his fiańce.
One thing that Mike credited to his career journey was being at the right place, at the right time. “Time and place have been everything. If you can be around people or companies, you like or would want to work with, connections will happen.”
He also said to never underestimate the art of the handwritten thank you note. “That’s how I got my first job, and it helped set me apart from my competition. I started to message old coworkers, find alumni on LinkedIn, and offered up a Google Meet link to find time to just catch up. The meetings started to come in by the dozens”.
Michael attributes much of his success to his approach to client interactions. "I prioritize listening over talking, because there's immense value in hearing others share their stories and challenges. Allowing for moments of dead air often encourages clients to reveal more, which can lead to better outcomes, more accurate solutions, or even just the right follow-up questions."
Mentorship has also played a crucial role in Michael's career development. He advises, "If you don't have a mentor, actively seek one out. Mentors have been instrumental in shaping my perspective over the years."
Michael’s last piece of advice was surrounding work life integration. “The concept of work-life balance suggests two separate versions of yourself," he reflected. "My biggest mistake was trying to maintain these worlds independently. I've found that integrating who I am at work and home, sharing my interests and experiences, has led to a more fulfilling life overall."
Mike’s journey from corporate consultant to successful entrepreneur offers valuable insights into the power of adaptability, continuous learning, and authentic self-integration in one's career path.
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