Mike Thirtle

As President and Chief Executive Officer of Bethesda, Mike Thirtle works alongside Bethesda’s leadership team and the passionate people of the organization to fulfill Bethesda’s mission. 

Prior to his current role, he was the Executive Vice President and Vice President for Strategy and Information Services for Bethesda. Before joining Bethesda, he worked for the RAND Corporation in various roles for 12 years, including Director of the RAND office at Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. Before his years with RAND, he was Director of Consulting for the National Data Corporation in Chicago and a Senior Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles. He is a proud veteran and retired member of the U.S. Air Force, where he served as an active duty reserve officer for nearly two decades. He graduated with military distinction—in the top one percent of his class— with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in Spanish from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addition, he holds several advanced degrees, including doctoral and master’s degrees in policy analysis, both from the RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica, California. He also has master’s degrees in finance and economics, both from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He has attended Executive Leadership Programs at both the Stanford Business School and the Harvard Business School. He has published numerous reports and articles on business reform, process improvement, education and development of people, technology and leadership.