Mike Ciannilli

Former NASA Test Director; Aerospace Technical Advisor, Spaceflight Risk & Decision-Making Expert; Keynote Speaker on Preventing Failure; Media Commentator

Orlando, FL, USA
Live Event: $30,000 - $50,000 Virtual Event: $10,000 - $20,000 More Fee Info
Communication, Executive Leadership, Finance, History, Leadership, News & Media, Space, Strategic Leadership
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Mike Ciannilli Biography

Mike Ciannilli is a professional speaker, on-air media commentator and consultant to governmental and commercial organizations. After completing a 30-year career in a wide variety of key leadership positions in America’s space program, Ciannilli shares NASA’s most invaluable and powerful lessons learned with companies and organizations across the United States and around the world. He delivers keynote speeches, presentations and engagements on a wide variety of insightful, translatable topics, and he turns complex technical subjects into clear, compelling stories for film, television, live news, podcast, print and radio audiences. In his consulting work, Ciannilli has contributed expertise to a broad range of projects and programs, delivering impactful results for diverse clients.

Ciannilli created NASA’s Apollo Challenger Columbia Lessons Learned Program, known as ACCLLP, designing and leading innovative events, media productions and collaborations to enshrine the lessons of failure and help ensure NASA’s future success across programs and missions. Through powerful storytelling and extensive multimedia collaborations, he connected the technical with the emotional, producing a profoundly effective impact on audiences. After creating the program in 2016, Ciannilli served for a decade as its program manager, delivering a significant positive influence on decision making across all levels of NASA and contractor leadership and enhancing development of a healthy workforce culture focused on safety and mission success.

Before and during his tenure as ACCLLP program manager, Ciannilli led two historically significant efforts: the Columbia Research and Preservation Office and the space shuttle Challenger recovery office. His leadership ensured the respectful recovery, handling, preservation and study of pivotal artifacts from spaceflight history. Those responsibilities included preservation and protection of fallen space shuttle artifacts, management of the Columbia and Challenger artifact recovery efforts, and execution of an artifact loan program that made Columbia artifacts available for research and academic purposes, the only program of its kind in the world.

Ciannilli also led the creation and development of the internationally recognized Forever Remembered exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Visited by millions of people each year, Forever Remembered serves as the nation’s memorial to the fallen crews of the space shuttle Columbia and the space shuttle Challenger tragedies.

Ciannilli served nine years as NASA test director for the space shuttle program at Kennedy Space Center, responsible for processing oversight of the space shuttle orbiters and ground support systems, including launch and landing facilities. That role included leading the entire launch team through space shuttle launch countdown activities. He also served as landing recovery director, leading contingency operations during launch countdown and landing activities, including flight crew recovery.

During the Columbia accident recovery in 2003, Ciannilli flew extensively onboard helicopters across Texas, leading air search operations to find and recover Columbia and her crew.

Before joining NASA in 2005, Ciannilli was a contractor for United Space Alliance, where he spent eight years as a test project engineer leading testing and engineering integration during processing, launch and postflight operations of the space shuttle launch vehicle and ground systems elements. During that time, he was assigned to the engineering leadership team of the space shuttle Columbia and held responsibilities to brief the flight crew prior to launch. He led the launch countdown simulation team, developing and directing high-fidelity simulations to train the entire launch team, and as the simulation lead for the Mission Management Team, he trained the leadership of the space shuttle program. Earlier roles included fuel cell system engineer responsible for testing and checkout of electrical power, water generation and payload support systems onboard the orbiter and an internship in space center operations and engineering for Pan Am World Services at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. Prior to his space program career, Ciannilli worked in education as a high school teacher and private tutor.

Ciannilli has received numerous awards, including a Silver Snoopy, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Quest Outreach Award, Launch and Landing Leadership Award, Launch Countdown Simulation Contingency Leadership Award and a Columbia Recovery Team Award, among others.

Ciannilli holds a Bachelor of Science in space science from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida. He grew up in Syracuse, New York, and, in addition to his lifelong passion for the space program, enjoys spending time with his family, surfing, boating, hiking, skiing and film and television production.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 08/04/2026.

Mike Ciannilli Speaking Topics

  • Preventing Failure: Lessons Learned to Lessons Applied

    Mike Ciannilli’s keynote is structured as a disciplined countdown that mirrors how Test Directors think and operate inside high-consequence systems.

    Through powerful storytelling, humor, and real operational lessons, audiences experience a clear progression from explanation to prevention.

    Identify Risk Early

    Leaders learn how small signals get dismissed, how normalization of deviance begins, and how to recognize risk before it becomes operational exposure.

    T-04: Align on What Happened and Why

    Teams examine not only how events unfolded but why decisions made sense at the time, replacing hindsight with clarity.

    T-03: Apply Lessons to Decisions

    Learning moves beyond reports and into real operational ownership, decision rights, and behavioral change.

    T-02: Challenge Drift and Assumptions

    Leaders recognize false confidence, question assumptions, and strengthen communication under pressure.

    T-01: Commit to Prevention Discipline

    Organizations leave with a practical framework for maintaining vigilance as urgency and complexity return.

    This structure creates a keynote experience that is engaging, grounded, and operationally relevant.

    What audiences leave with/organizations consistently report:

    • Earlier identification of risk and weak signals
    • Clearer communication across roles and silos
    • Stronger operational discipline under pressure
    • Explicit ownership of lessons learned
    • Fewer repeat failures and near-misses

    Most importantly, leaders gain a disciplined way to move from explanation to prevention.

Mike Ciannilli Videos

Mike Ciannilli - Lessons from Columbia

Mike Ciannilli - Lessons from Columbia

Mike Ciannilli explains how disciplined decisions prevent failure in complex space missions.

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  • How do I book Mike Ciannilli to speak at my event?

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  • What are the speaker fees for Mike Ciannilli

    Speaking fees for Mike Ciannilli, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Mike Ciannilli are $30,000 - $50,000 for live events and $10,000 - $20,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Mike Ciannilli, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

  • What topics does Mike Ciannilli speak about?

    Mike Ciannilli is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Communication, Executive Leadership, Finance, History, Leadership, News & Media, Space, Strategic Leadership

  • Where does Mike Ciannilli travel from?

    Mike Ciannilli generally travels from Orlando, FL, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.

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    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Mike Ciannilli for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Mike Ciannilli for your next private or corporate function.

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Mike Ciannilli is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Preventing Failure: Lessons Learned to Lessons Applied. The estimated speaking fee range to book Mike Ciannilli for your event is $30,000 - $50,000. Mike Ciannilli generally travels from Orlando, FL, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Daniel S. Goldin, Stephanie Bickel, Melissa Lee, Dimitri Chichlo and Mickey Bergman. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Mike Ciannilli for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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