Bio

Mike Hayes is a Managing Director at Insight Partners. He is passionate about technology as the best way to elevate societies, standards of living, and create real meaning and impact. Hayes was previously the Chief Operating Officer at VMware responsible for the company's global business operations and SaaS transition. He led the teams responsible for enterprise technology, data, analytics, machine learning, automation, business transformation, M&A integration, procurement, revenue operations, and enterprise security. Hayes helped lead VMware’s successful sale to Broadcom for $69B, one of the largest ever global technology deals. Prior to VMware, Hayes was a senior executive at Cognizant, then a 270,000-person IT services firm and Fortune 500 #195, with $16B in revenue. He was a member of the executive leadership group, had $2B P&L responsibility for banking and financial services, and led a massive change management program to drive scale and growth for the firm’s largest accounts. Hayes has also served in Chief of Staff and COO roles at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund with $160B under management. Hayes served as a Navy SEAL for 20 years, which included selection as a White House Fellow, service as Director for Defense Policy and Strategy at the National Security Council for Presidents Bush and Obama, and his last role was Commanding Officer of SEAL Team TWO. Hayes is the recipient of the Bronze Star for valor in combat in Iraq, the Bronze Star in Afghanistan, and the Defense Superior Service Medal from the White House. He is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, on the Board of the National Medal of Honor Museum, the author of the bestseller Never Enough, and donates all book profits to The 1162 Foundation, his 501c3 that pays off mortgages for Gold Star families.