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