Michael Schmidt

CIO at Pinnacle Holding Company, LLC

Can you please provide a little introduction about yourself

I am currently the CIO for Pinnacle Holding Company, LLC based in East Syracuse, New York. I oversee IT and Cybersecurity for all the Pinnacle companies including Pinnacle Investments, Pinnacle Employee Services, Pinnacle Capital Management, Split14 Creative, and Pinnacle Talent Solutions.

What has your journey to your position been like? What path have you taken?

The path to my current position was a bit unconventional, but I think every step along the way was incredibly beneficial. I was always drawn to the technology field, even from an early age. While pursuing my BS in Computer Information Systems at SUNY Brockport, I had the opportunity to participate in multiple internships in various fields from service provider networking to enterprise IT PMO. These opportunities gave me a chance to explore different fields and helped guide me in deciding on where I wanted to start my career.

I began working for Charter Communications in 2018 as a Network Engineer and spent several years with their Enterprise Implementation and Operations team in the Syracuse area. I was fortunate to work with a lot of great people and lead exciting projects as well. In this role, I was encouraged by my peers and my leadership to take on more responsibility, which was my first taste of what it meant to be a leader, even if it was informal. During this time, I was also working towards my MBA at West Texas A&M. My time at Charter provided a great environment to put my schooling to use in a real-world setting.

In 2021 I was approached with the opportunity to move to Pinnacle as their Director of Information Technology. Coming from a large ISP to a smaller enterprise IT environment, I was a bit nervous, but at the same time very excited to make this move. When I first started at Pinnacle, it was obvious the organization was on an incredible growth trajectory and I quickly found myself immersed in the various facets of the business, working to learn the ins and outs of each department, each subsidiary, and getting to know all of the team members. The organization had built a solid foundation prior to my tenure, and I was able to quickly start taking the next steps to keep us growing at an exceptional rate. In 2 years, our team has helped shape a culture that embraces change, collaboration, and adoption of new technologies. In addition to helping build a playbook and processes around our daily activities, we’ve added team members who are experts in their field to help support the business in various ways. Working to support multiple organizations with separate needs, requirements and regulations is a unique challenge that you often don’t see in an enterprise environment. For myself and my team, it keeps each day fun and exciting, to say the least!

In October of 2023, I transitioned into the role of Chief Information Officer to help continue our mission of growth and service excellence. We have an incredible group of people within our organization, and I’m fortunate to work with so many talented individuals, each one passionate about their craft.

Has it always been your vision to reach the position you’re at? Was your current role part of your vision to become a tech leader?

I’ve always gravitated towards a leadership role; it’s something I feel I have a natural inclination for. But if you had asked my younger self if a CIO position was in the cards, I would say probably not. It seemed such a lofty and almost unattainable goal, but once I had the opportunity to work in a real capacity as a leader, that quickly changed. It gave me the confidence to say, “Hey, I can do this” and suddenly that far-fetch goal seemed more realistic.

Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey?

on these people for their advice when the need arises. I value their insight and love to learn from their experience to see how I can apply the knowledge to my situation and learn a thing or two along the way.

My wife, in particular, has been such an incredible pillar of support and motivation throughout my journey. I am so thankful to have such an incredible partner who supports me and pushes me to be my very best. Without her, I can’t say that I would be where I am today.

How do you see the role of the technology leader evolving over the next 5 years?

I think the role of a technology leader will become more intense in the next 5 years. As businesses increasingly view technology as a necessity, the pressure on leaders to ensure stability, security and availability is going to be more essential than ever. This, coupled with the fast-paced landscape and increasing regulatory requirements will mean that a well-informed technology leader is going to be essential to an organization’s success. 

What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?

Technology is no longer a want or something nice to have, it is essential in almost every organization no matter the size. Because of this, technology leaders need to have more than just profound technical expertise. They need to understand their business, the driving factors and the most important components that really keep the lights on. Information Technology is already starting to shift from being seen as a drain on resources, and that trend is only going to accelerate. Being able to communicate with business leaders and understand the organization’s vision is important, but I think the most important skill is to be a problem solver. By understanding the needs of the business, technology leaders are in a unique position to find solutions that might otherwise be overlooked.

How do you keep current with new skills, technologies and personal development?

I’m constantly reading and learning where I can. Articles and training are great, but I find that the best way to stay current is to live through experiences. One of my mentors always stressed a “lead from the front” mentality, and I try to live that every day. When I started at Pinnacle, I immersed myself in the day-to-day activities so I could learn about our organization, our tech stack, and our end users. This helped cultivate a culture of collaboration within my team. To this day if we need a set of hands to jump in and help, I love rolling up my sleeves and getting to work. I find these moments keep me grounded and remind me why I enjoy this field so much.

What do you see as the next leap in technology that will impact your business or industry in particular?

Like many other people, I’m impressed with the potential of AI. I think that it is going to have a huge impact on businesses of all industries, and it will very likely change how organizations operate in significant ways. 

“Just because something doesn’t fit in your job description, that doesn’t mean you can’t go the extra mile to help.”

If you were mentoring a leader of the future, what advice or guidance would you give to help them on their way?

Get out there and talk to people. Build your network, be open to constructive feedback, and never say no to a conversation. The world is much smaller than you think, and you never know where that conversation will lead. Also understand that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Think about where you want to be in 5, 10, 20 years and build a plan to achieve that. Break down the large goals into smaller ones, and don’t be afraid to revise the plan if needed. Lastly, be a helper. Just because something doesn’t fit in your job description, that doesn’t mean you can’t go the extra mile to help. These things will be noticed, and they can pay dividends on the back end.

Is there anything in particular that you would still like to achieve in your career or what is the next step on your journey?

Right now, there is still a lot to be accomplished in my current role so in the immediate future I plan to keep focused on continuing to grow our organization. As someone who has a hard time sitting still, I’m always looking for what’s next, but I’m extremely happy with where I’m at so I’m channeling that energy into building something special here.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be? 

It sounds funny coming from someone in the technology field, but I would love to see people put down their phones, tablets, laptops, etc. and experience life. We live in a time where most people watch TV in the morning, spend all day looking at a screen, and come home to unwind while staring at a screen again. It’s important to unplug from time to time; take a walk, put the phone away at the dinner table, read a book, go fishing…. whatever it is you like to do.  

A big thank you to Michael Schmidt from Pinnacle Holding Company for sharing his journey to date.