When Michael Phillips, Head of Delivery, EMEA at Syniti, talks about his career, one thing becomes clear immediately: growth has never been accidental. It’s been driven by a willingness to take on more, learn more, and ultimately, Expect More from himself and the work in front of him.
Over more than a decade with Syniti, Michael has built a reputation for stepping into complex client environments, learning fast, and consistently expanding his impact. What began as a role focused on master data cleansing evolved into leadership across data migration, cutover, delivery, and broader business transformation initiatives.
His story is not just about career progression. It is about what happens when curiosity, client commitment, and what’s possible when both the business and its people are given the opportunity to rise to their standards.
That path eventually led him into SAP and data work, first through a role at Genentech and later through a pivotal opportunity supporting a Tory Burch SAP implementation in New York. What sounded like a straightforward assignment quickly became something more complex: cleansing and connecting master data across customers, vendors, materials, factories, and invoices.
It was there that Michael first demonstrated the instincts that would shape his consulting career.
“I understand the business. I also understand what the technical side is… so I can translate what somebody technical is trying to say to somebody on the business side.”
That ability to connect business and technical stakeholders has remained one of Michael’s defining strengths ever since. It’s also what elevates data work from execution to impact.
After joining DMR, which later became part of Syniti, Michael moved quickly through increasingly complex engagements, including projects at Under Armour, Tapestry, Levi’s, Bridgestone, and e.l.f. Beauty.
“I put in the effort. I showed that I was committed. I showed that I wanted to learn more. I asked questions. I was engaged. I volunteered for everything,” Michael reflected.
Just as important as the work itself was how he approached it. Michael made a habit of sitting in on every meeting he could with senior leaders and mentors, observing not just what they did well, but how they led clients through risk, decision-making, and go-live pressure.
“I soaked up every single bit of information I could,” he concluded. That desire to learn proved fruitful, as he quickly moved from individual contributor roles into leadership positions within just a few years.
At Syniti, growth isn’t gated by tenure. It’s driven by curiosity, initiative, and the willingness to take on more. In environments where expectations are high, people tend to rise to meet them.
One of the strongest themes in Michael’s journey is that data transformation is never just about data. From the beginning, he shared the same perspective that defines Syniti’s approach today: successful data work must be tied directly to business outcomes.
“It's not just about the data; it's about an entire business transformation,” Michael explains. “If you can put that together and understand the process behind what the data does, all of a sudden you are invaluable to any organization you talk to, because that's always what they're struggling to grasp at: they see they've got data or they understand the process, but they don't understand how the two connect.”
That belief shapes how Syniti teams engage with clients. Rather than treating migration, cutover, or governance as isolated activities, the focus is on connecting data, process, and decision-making from the start so transformation delivers measurable business value.
“If you can help them connect the dots, instantly you see light bulbs go on over people's heads... you see them start to understand the importance of the quality of the data. You see them start to understand on day two when the data quality goes down, the importance of the conversation you had about starting data governance early.”
For Michael, that is where real consulting begins: not simply delivering a technical answer, but helping clients rethink how their business operates and raising the bar for what transformation should achieve.
Michael speaks passionately about what consulting should look like in practice. In his view, it is not enough to recommend a path forward. Clients should expect a higher standard than merely being served a list of best practices. They should expect clarity, context, and a clear understanding of impact.
“It's one thing to talk to a client and tell them, ‘This is what you should do. Here's my recommendation or here’s the “best practice”. It's a totally different thing to actually consult and come in and say, so ‘Here's your Path A. Here's your path B. Well, here's the “so what” of Path A, and here's the “so what” of Path B.’”
That phrase, the “so what,” has become central to how he leads.
“That's a different level of consulting that I think everybody in any organization should aspire to do is to think about what is the ‘so what?’ of any risk, of any issue, of any decision,” Michael explains. “What is the so what? What is that impact? It's helps translate everything about the transformation they're trying to accomplish and helps them relate and connect to it.”
This level of thinking is what turns delivery teams into strategic partners. It’s also especially relevant in today’s transformation landscape, where organizations are not just implementing new systems, but rethinking how they operate.
Another recurring theme in Michael’s story is the depth of his client commitment. He describes fully immersing himself in client environments, learning their business, advocating for the right choices, and speaking up when something does not serve their goals.
“When I am with the client, I am the client.”
That level of commitment has translated into the kind of trust that’s hard to earn and even harder to replace. As a critical go-live approached, it became clear that Michael’s long-planned trip to Antarctica would overlap with a pivotal moment in the project. Having become integral to its success, he chose to move the trip and stay through go-live. That moment stands out as a reflection of the trust he builds with every client and the impact he dedicates himself to delivering.
That same balance—between commitment, impact, and knowing where he can make the greatest difference—has enabled him to continue taking on new challenges, including an international leadership move to Germany. A longtime personal goal, it’s another example of how careers at Syniti can expand both in scope and scale.
That balance between commitment and impact has guided him in continuing to taking on new challenges, including an international leadership move to Germany. A longtime personal goal, it's another example of how careers at Syniti can expand both in scope and scale.
Today, Michael is helping build strong partnerships and teams in EMEA, continuing the same pattern that has defined his career from the start: stay curious, stay client-focused, and never settle for surface-level outcomes.
Looking back, one of his most memorable reflections may also be the simplest:
“I was business outcomes before business outcomes was cool.”
It is a line that captures both his humor and his perspective. Long before “business transformation” became the language of the market, Michael was already working that way. He connected data to process, process to outcomes, and outcomes to long-term client success.
His journey is a powerful example of what happens when you raise the bar. Not just for your work, but for what transformation should deliver.
For those building a consulting career, Michael’s journey offers a clear perspective. Stay curious, ask better questions, understand the business, and always focus on the “so what.” That is what turns experience into impact and separates those who deliver from those who lead transformation. At Syniti, that mindset is not just encouraged. It is what drives how we work and how we grow.
And for anyone wondering, yes, he eventually did make it Antarctica. Today, Michael has traveled to 58 countries, seen 29% of the world, and visited all seven continents. A fitting milestone for someone who has built a career by going where the challenge is and turning it into opportunity.