Mike Truesdell is a Senior Consultant with our Search & Consulting Group.

As a client of CS&A he helped facilitate logistics for the successful search for his successor, the fifth President of Holy Cross High School in New York City. Since joining the firm Mike has partnered with many exceptional CS&A consultants to identify, recruit, and place senior leaders for a variety of academic institutions.

From senior leadership positions in both education and business, Mike has successfully invigorated strategic planning, guided fundraising and financing, as well as implemented both governance board and senior organizational restructuring.

Before joining CS&A, Mike served as the President and CEO of Holy Cross High School (NY) from 2016 to 2022. Mike’s accomplishments include reversing declining enrollment by moving the institution to co-education, implementing the school’s first capital campaign resulting in the first additional campus building in 70 years, seamlessly guiding the school to remote learning during the pandemic, and increasing alumni advancement support.

Prior to Holy Cross, Mike was the President and CEO of St. John’s Jesuit High School & Academy (OH). During his tenure, he returned the school to an operating surplus, spearheaded a strategic planning process, and implemented mission critical initiatives around fundraising and advancement. From 2004-2013, Mike was the President and CEO of Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, CA. He guided the single-gender school to co-education at the abrupt closing of its neighboring sister-school, initiated and completed a successful capital campaign, implemented new Cloud-based information technologies, expanded facilities, and restructured organizational leadership.

As a member of the governing board of the Mercy Education System of the Americas, Mike is involved in supporting leaders of 55 academic institutions in six countries in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. These institutions sponsored by and affiliated with the Sisters of Mercy serve students from Pre-K through Higher Education.

Mike also brings experience in financial management and leadership, serving as Dean of the Reeves School of Business and Economics at Methodist University (NC), Vice President of Ethos Consulting Inc. (CA), President and CEO of Reming Information Systems (CA), Vice President and COO of Guaranty Office Systems (CA), and Vice President and General Manager of Book Centers, Inc. (CA).

Mike earned a BA in modern languages from the University of Notre Dame (1974) and an MBA in finance from Washington University, St. Louis (1976). He and his family enjoy all manner of outdoor activities near their home in the Lake Tahoe area of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.