I walk into unfamiliar industries, figure out how they work, and build systems that outlast me. My own career has been in software, publishing, and ecommerce, but through those roles and the clients they brought me, I’ve worked alongside organizations in manufacturing, distribution, field service, finance, government, and beyond. The common thread is learning how an operation works end-to-end, and then doing the work to make it better.

I live north of Pittsburgh with my three kids. Outside of work I’m a Catholic, ham radio operator, hiker, and the kind of person who builds ill-advised home automations to solve problems that could also be solved by just looking at a clock.

Want to talk shop? michael@aquilina.us or find me on LinkedIn

Work (Current)

Scepter Publishers

2024-Present (Strongsville, OH)

Leading sales, marketing, and operational strategy at a 70-year-old Catholic publisher. We're retooling the business for a new era: rebranding, rebuilding distribution, expanding international licensing, and rethinking how we reach readers.

Work (Previous)

Bizowie Cloud ERP

2013-2023 (Pittsburgh, PA)

Co-founded a bootstrapped cloud ERP for manufacturers and distributors. Led operations for the first two years, then sales and marketing for eight. Our customers ranged from five-person shops to Fortune 500 divisions, across industries I had to learn from scratch: metals, chemicals, food & beverage, furniture, field service, and more. Sold the company in 2023.

Grant Street Group

2007-2013 (Pittsburgh, PA)

Built SaaS platforms for government and capital markets clients, including tax collection and billing systems, trading platforms for fixed-income securities, and customized platforms for tax lien and foreclosure sales. Started as a summer intern, ended as a technical lead.

Bridgeville Public Library

2005-2007 (Bridgeville, PA)

El loco de los libros. Circulation desk ninja, de-facto IT guy, shelver of books, occasional mascot.

Projects (Current)

MMS LLC

2017-Present (Pittsburgh, PA)

Parent company for two ecommerce brands: a niche online retailer and a small publishing imprint. Built from scratch, including sourcing, fulfillment, and wholesale distribution. At scale (2022), filled ~20k orders/year across ~5k SKUs at a 4.1% conversion rate.