Bio
Mike Bernhardt leads communications and outreach for the Exascale Computing Project. His areas of responsibility include communications and outreach strategy, ownership of the project's external facing (public) website, media and analyst relations, and all outreach collateral such as videos, audio podcasts, newsletters and other materials.
Mike is a 30-year veteran of the HPC community with a proven track record in strategic communications, marketing, public relations, branding and advertising.
In the early 90s, Mike was the Director of Market Relations and Communications for the Supercomputer Systems Division of Intel Corporation. In 1994, he formed a strategic marketing firm, The Bernhardt Agency, for the HPC market segment. In 2001, 2002, and 2003, the company was named the top marketing agency to work for by Oregon Business magazine, and in 2003 it took top honors as the #1 small business to work for in Oregon.
After selling The Bernhardt Agency in 2004, Bernhardt went on to build and sell two other widely respected, HPC-focused communications agencies, Noblemen Communications and Libra Strategic Communications.
In 2010, Bernhardt launched subscription-based The Exascale Report ™, the first publication to bring an insider perspective to the emerging topic of exascale computing.
In 2013, he returned to Intel as an HPC Community Evangelist, and in 2016 he joined the communications staff at ORNL to serve as the communications lead for the Exascale Computing Project
Bernhardt has been an active volunteer committee member of the IEEE/ACM SC conferences for more than two decades. He served as the Communications Chair for SC09 and is a member of the informal group known as the “SC Perennials,” one of 17 people who have attended all SC conferences since the first event in 1988.
Bernhardt is a U.S. Navy veteran, qualified firearms safety instructor, and a public safety advocate. He previously served as Vice President for the Washington County (OR) Sheriff’s Department Foundation, as Director of Volunteer Services for the Forest Grove (OR) Police Department, and for three years was a City Commissioner on the Forest Grove (OR) Public Safety Commission.