Mike Bernacchi

Mike Bernacchi is a retired two-star admiral with over 35 years of service and experience. He began his career as a Nuclear Submarine Officer and rose to hold command and leadership positions at all levels throughout the Navy.

With service on several Fast Attack and one Ballistic Missile Submarine, Mike spent his first 23 years with deployments to every theater across the globe including the Arctic commanding USS ALEXANDRIA and Submarine Squadron Four. Key jobs ashore included serving as Executive Assistant (EA) to the Chief of Naval Personnel and EA to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations. As a Flag Officer he commanded Naval Service Training Command (NETC) and Submarine Group Ten and became an expert in space strategy, policy, and non-kinetic operations as Director of Strategy, Plans, and Policy for United States Space Command and the Deputy Commander for Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet and United States Navy Space Command standing up Navy Space command in January of 2023.

Mike is known for his thoughtful and compassionate leadership in developing leaders and leading teams operating in dynamic and complex environments. His transformative approach as NETC commander revolutionized Navy accessions training for young officers and enlisted that significantly improved performance and reduced attrition. He created the Warrior Toughness human performance improvement/resiliency system that is in use by the entire Navy today. In his Space and Cyber assignments, he focused on integration of global capabilities synchronized to produce non-kinetic effects and wrote the first ever Space Contingency Plans approved by the SECDEF. He developed teams that could embrace multi-domain problems and quickly produce globally integrated solutions across multiple theaters and domains.

He holds Masters of Science degrees from University of Michigan in Nuclear Engineering and Industrial Engineering and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Detroit. He holds certificates from Sloan School of Management (MIT) in Advanced Intelligence and Darden School of Business (UVA) in Strategic Thinking.

Mike retired from the Navy in November of 2023 and looking forward to working in the civilian sector where he can continue to serve in challenging leadership and consulting opportunities where his skill sets, and the organization’s needs align.