Michael van Aanhout joined Stratos in 2000 as a Senior Consultant, became President in 2005 and Chairman in 2012.  Michael is a driven by the desire to move towards a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future.  He works collaboratively with corporate, public sector and civil society leaders to address environmental, social, and governance opportunities, challenges, and risks.  In addition to strategy and management consulting, Michael works with clients and communities of interest to design, manage, and facilitate consultation and engagement processes on a range of sustainability issues.

Before joining Stratos, Michael was a Senior Environmental Management Consultant at Jacques Whitford Environment Limited. Prior to that, Michael was a Regulatory Affairs Manager Western Canada at Laidlaw Environmental Services Ltd and served as a Naval Officer and Marine Systems Engineer with the Department of National Defence for the Canadian Navy.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Engineering and Management from the Royal Military College of Canada, has completed the Marine Engineering Application Course from the Royal Naval Engineering College in the United Kingdom, participated in the Leadership Forum at the University of Ottawa, School of Management Centre for Executive Education, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario.  Michael was honoured to be a recipient of the Delta Management 2015 Canada’s Clean50 Award.

Outside of the office, Michael enjoys self-propelled recreation and sports all year round with family and friends, and volunteers with local, regional and national community and environmental not-for profits including sitting on the boards of HOST, EnviroCentre and Nature United.