Mike Simms
Founder & Managing Director
"I started Simms Group Consulting because I was tired of watching clients pay for advice from people who had never been accountable for the outcome — practitioner-led consulting works because we've lived the problem, not just studied it." - Mike Simms
Mike spent more than 25 years at Microsoft, the last six as Chief Procurement Officer. In that role he ran over $20 billion in annual spend across 130 countries, managed a supply base of roughly 60,000 suppliers, and led a team of more than 250 procurement professionals. He has made the calls that matter most in a procurement function: critical hires, major supplier awards and terminations, and the systems the whole organization runs on.
He also helped set the bar for the profession. Mike co-chaired the Indirect Procurement Council and co-developed the COPC procurement standards, including the Indirect Procurement Standard. That work shapes how Simms Group Consulting assesses a client’s capability today: against a recognized standard rather than opinion.
Mike founded the firm in 2020 to put senior practitioner leadership where clients need it. Most of his fractional CPO work means stepping in to lead an existing team through a gap or a major change. When a client doesn’t have a team, he brings the sourcing and contracting talent and leads it himself. He also advises engineering R&D and IT services firms on how enterprise buyers actually make decisions, a view he earned from the buyer’s chair.
As Co-Founder and COO of Sivuno, an AI-powered spend intelligence platform, Mike builds and deploys AI in procurement himself. Clients get advice grounded in what works in production.
Outside of work, Mike is an avid scuba diver with Divemaster credentials and a lifelong musician. He is the proud father of two grown kids and lives in the Seattle area with his wife, Lori, and their dog, Percy.
Core expertise: Fractional CxO Leadership, AI Solutions for Procurement, Strategy & Go-to-Market, Process & Capability Assessments, Coaching & Mentoring
