Ask the Executive Anything: An Evening with Mike Toppo

In this first-of-its-kind free event, Master's and Ph.D. students in Ivan Allen College are invited to share dinner with Mike Toppo, a longtime friend of IAC and former vice president at CNN. In his career spanning three decades with the Cable News Network, Toppo also previously served as senior editorial director, senior director for news operations and production, senior producer, and more.      

He is a people-centered media leader who cares deeply about building strong teams, healthy cultures, and content strategies that genuinely connect with audiences. During his time at CNN, he helped shape content strategies for CNN’s core products, launched the CNN Headlines streaming channel across FAST platforms, and created CNN’s first digital “war room” to bring editorial, data, and social teams together for real-time decision-making.     

He is especially energized by work that balances performance with well-being. Whether it’s improving engagement and watch time through experimentation, increasing video completion rates through training, or mentoring emerging leaders, his focus is on creating environments where people feel supported, confident, and motivated to do their best work. Collaboration, empathy, and clarity are central to how Toppo leads — and he takes pride in helping teams grow, adapt, and thrive while delivering real results.

Toppo says, "I’ve learned a lot about how to navigate through an organization while not beating myself up along the way.  Maybe I can help you develop those skills, too!"