Executive Coach

Michael Carolina

Executive Director, Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology · Engineering Director, Lucent Technologies Oklahoma City Global Provisioning Center

“Connect science with society: technology is powerful, but leadership is how we communicate and apply it.”
Michael Carolina

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Experience

200+: Engineering force led at Lucent
$1.1B: OCAST impact, fiscal 2020
24:1: OCAST return per appropriated dollar
15: Countries worked in

Expertise

Across industry, government, and academia, Michael has been the person placed between a technical operation and the funders and counterparts who had to trust it. He has repaired a supply chain inside a South Korean joint venture and explained to legislators why technology payback takes years. He studies the other side's culture first, asks them to help design the fix, and puts the people doing the work in the room. In his words, he leads by "trust but verify," and his personal mission is "to make a difference."

Industry

Michael worked in telecommunications for about 25 years at Western Electric, AT&T, and Lucent Technologies, in engineering, technology transfer, and joint venture operations across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. He then led Oklahoma's technology-based economic development agency for 17 years. He now directs an innovation center in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma State University.

Specialties

Repairing a struggling overseas joint venture
Making the case for long-horizon investment to funders
Aligning a university with its industry sponsors
Moving new technology from laboratory to market
Checking cultural fit before a merger or joint venture

Career history

01 of 8

Project Engineer, Western Electric Company

In their own words

Proudest accomplishment?

At the University of Oklahoma, I got the Gallogly Engineering Distinguished Graduates Award, and man, that's pretty powerful. I was saying, do I deserve this? … So my picture's on the wall up there.

Best advice he'd give?

First thing you do is listening. Learn about the organization. … Don't walk in the first day and say we're going to change this.

Most fulfilling part?

You put building blocks in place, and you see the results. And those are very rewarding when you see successes. Even celebrating sometimes small successes brings people together.

Career highlights

Led an engineering force of more than 200 people as Engineering Director of Lucent Technologies' Oklahoma City Global Provisioning Center.
Coordinated transfers of Bell Labs designed products into joint ventures in Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Spain, and Brazil, and worked in about 15 countries.
Reported a cumulative 24:1 return to the state for every dollar appropriated to OCAST in the 2021 Impact Report he signed as executive director.
The agency he directed reported $1.1 billion in total financial impact and 1,908 jobs created or retained for fiscal year 2020.
Named Director of the Zink Center for Competitive Innovation at Oklahoma State University in August 2025, after two years as Associate Director.

Top 5 strengths CliftonStrengths

Arranger

Executing

Maps organizational capability before changing how it runs.

Responsibility

Executing

Holds each hire to defined roles and accountability.

Woo

Influencing

Opens relationships by learning the other side's culture.

Learner

Strategic Thinking

Benchmarks other programs, including their failures, before building.

Achiever

Executing

Takes fifteen minutes to celebrate, then pushes on.

Personality type

ENFP

“The Campaigner”

He adjusts his style to each organization's culture and moves into an ESTJ mode when the situation requires.

Based in

Edmond, Oklahoma

Would Michael be the right match?

Tell us about the leader and the situation. If Michael is not the fit, one of the other coaches will be.

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