Michael J. Novak is Chief Operating Officer of EA Principals, Inc., a global training and consulting firm. He is a retired U.S. Naval Officer and retired Federal Employee. His military career included service aboard ships of the Pacific Fleet; management of Equal Opportunity and Race Relations programs, intercultural relations/overseas diplomacy programs, shipboard training programs, and defense logistics. His significant duties included three command tours, service as an interpreter (Japanese-English) for the Director of Naval Intelligence, and on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Logistics, in the Pentagon. His extensive career in government included positions with the Internal Revenue Service Office of Procurement, the IRS Office of Research, Department of the Treasury Office of Strategic Planning and Evaluation, the IRS Office of the National Director of Quality, and the Defense Logistics Agency Executive Directorate of Quality Assurance. His significant duties have included drafting the Treasury Department Strategic Plan; serving on task groups chartered by Vice President Gore’s National Partnership for Reinventing Government; and developing and implementing Defense Department procurement policy.

Mr. Novak is a specialist in Organizational Performance Assessment and Improvement, particularly within the context of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. His experience with the Baldrige Criteria and methodology began in 1994 as an Examiner with the President’s Quality Award. Subsequently, he has served as Examiner, Team leader, Scorebook Editor, Team Mentor, and Judge in numerous Baldrige-based programs, and was a four-time Examiner with the Baldrige National Quality Award Program. He has been an internal and external consultant to organizations implementing the Baldrige method or applying for Baldrige-based awards. Currently, he is Executive Director of the Maryland Performance Excellence Awards program, a state-level Baldrige-based organizational excellence recognition program.

Mr. Novak has authored or co-authored five books and published nearly 100 professional papers, articles, and reviews, and has delivered over 80 presentations to industry, government, and professional audiences. He has been guest lecturer at colleges and universities including the University of Denver and the Johns Hopkins University Graduate Division of Business and Management, and serves as a Facilitator for the U.S. Naval Academy Capstone Seminar in Moral Leadership. He has been interviewed on Federal News Radio, and has been featured in periodicals such as Talent Management, Federal Computer Week, and Government Leader. His writings have appeared in FedTech magazine, PMBoulevard, GOVTek Newsletter, EA Zone Journal, and the Government Transformation Journal.

Mr. Novak is a Past President of the Washington, DC, Chapter of the Knowledge Management Professional Society, and Past Co-Chair of the Federal Knowledge Management Working Group. He has also been Co-Chair of the Government Enterprise Integrators Group research team on Enterprise Risk Management and Co-Chair of the Knowledge and Human Capital Retention Special Interest Group. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, the University of Maryland, and the U.S. Naval War College. He is a Senior Member of the American Society for Quality, a Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence, a Certified Quality Engineer, and a Certified Enterprise Architect.