Press & Event Resources

Press Bio

Mike Ciannilli is a former NASA mission leader who provides media analysis on how complex missions prevent failure under pressure. He offers insight on mission readiness, autonomy certification, launch risk, and leadership decision-making in high-stakes environments.

Commentary Topics

Sample Interview Questions

• What is the real risk facing a mission program right now
• What do infrastructure decisions signal about program direction
• When does confidence in technology create failure risk
• How do leaders prevent catastrophic outcomes

Speaker Bio (Short)

Mike Ciannilli is a former NASA mission leader who equips leaders in high-stakes environments to protect decision quality under pressure. Drawing on human spaceflight experience, he shows how risk shifts as confidence grows and what it takes to maintain discipline when decisions carry real consequences.

Speaker Bio (Medium)

Mike Ciannilli is a former NASA mission leader who equips leaders to protect decision quality in complex, high-pressure environments.

During his time supporting human spaceflight missions, Mike worked in conditions where small decisions carried significant consequences for mission success and crew safety. He saw that programs do not fail because risk is invisible. They fail when risk begins to feel acceptable.

Today, he works with leadership teams operating under sustained pressure to recognize how risk evolves, challenge assumptions, and maintain discipline as confidence grows. His focus is on preventing failure by strengthening how decisions are made before problems become visible.

Speaker Bio (Long)

Mike Ciannilli is a former NASA mission leader and expert in how complex programs prevent failure under sustained pressure.

While supporting human spaceflight missions, Mike operated in environments where decisions directly affected mission success, crew safety, and public trust. He saw how programs rarely fail because leaders ignore risk. They fail when risk begins to feel manageable as momentum builds and expectations rise.

Today, Mike equips leaders and teams operating in complex systems to protect decision quality as conditions change. His work focuses on how risk is interpreted, how assumptions are validated, and how discipline is maintained when confidence increases.

His insights are especially relevant for organizations managing safety-critical systems, rapid technological change, and increasing reliance on automation. He connects mission-level lessons to the realities leaders face as systems grow more complex and the consequences of small decisions increase.

Speaker Introduction

Technical Advising for Film & TV

Mike provides end-to-end support from script development through post-production. He ensures that high-stakes mission environments feel authentic, helping teams make fast decisions that protect both story integrity and audience trust.