Mike McCollum: Capital One SVP, Google Engineering Leader, Volunteer

Mike McCollum has worked all over the continental United States and in Zurich, Switzerland. He has contributed to both academic research communication and finance tools used by millions of people every day.

And he has always been guided by the Volunteer spirit he cultivated during his graduate studies on Rocky Top.

“I’m inspired by the ways that you can use technology to transform the lives of people,” said McCollum, who earned his MS and PhD from the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) in 2004 and 2006, respectively. “In all the different fields I’ve worked in, I’ve always come at it with, ‘How do I feel like I’m making the world a better place?’”

After graduating from the University of Tennessee, McCollum worked as an assistant professor at Miami University and Virginia Commonwealth University. He then pivoted into industry, working at Google as a software engineer—where, among other projects, he wrote the first line of code for Google Classroom—and then an engineering leader for Google Meet, Calendar, and Voice.

Just over one year ago, McCollum made his jump into finance as Capital One’s senior vice president for card intelligent decisions and experiences. He now oversees the organization’s use of modern platforms, real-time data, and machine learning to create great customer experiences across the card user journey—everything from marketing to application submission and approval, card receipt, and even how transactions are approved or declined.

Throughout his varied career, McCollum has felt supported and grounded by his graduate experience at UT, especially the opportunity to conduct research not just with electrical and computer engineers but material scientists, civil and environmental engineers, and biologists during his degree programs.

“It gave me experience working on projects with parts that I understand really well and parts that I don’t necessarily understand,” he said. “That has served me well in places like Capital One, where I don’t have a big background in financial services, but I have the confidence and adaptability to be successful.”

Partnerships that Last

McCollum officially conducted his graduate work under the advisement of EECS Professor Gregory Peterson, but received almost equal support—and considerable funding—from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s current department head, Chris Cox, and Department of Materials and Science Engineering Professor Mike Simpson.

“All three of them had a tremendous influence on who I am today. I still text them for advice,” McCollum said. “When I got the job at Capital One, I actually called Dr. Simpson and thanked him.”

The ability to utilize the resources and expertise at Oak Ridge National Laboratory was a key factor in McCollum’s decision to pursue his graduate studies at UT, and he took full advantage of that opportunity during his time on Rocky Top.

“For me, that partnership is what distinguishes Tennessee from a lot of other options that you have for research or education,” he said. “I was working with nano and biotechnology, material science, and some of the fastest supercomputers in the world at the time.”

Where to Start an Engineering Career

Having spent five years in academia and 14 in industry, McCollum advised current Engineering Vols to choose between those sectors based on what project timescale most speaks to them.

“In academia, you can work on bold, longer-term ideas that may not have near-term financial benefit,” he said. “You could wonder what the world is possibly going to be like 10 or 20 years out, and work on fundamental or speculative research that starts to answer those questions.”

Working in the more profit-oriented private sector means developing projects much faster—sometimes with rollouts on the order of months. While that can be stressful, McCollum feels inspired by the potential to impact everyday people’s lives so quickly.

Of course, as his career has demonstrated, academic and industry spaces are not exclusive. In fact, McCollum is considering returning to academia someday.

“It’s a misconception that you have to pick what you are going to do and stick with that forever,” he said. “I’ve had a fantastic career because I’ve managed to try out multiple things to figure out what fit me right. My advice to the Engineering Vols out there is to stay curious, take risks, and try jumping into areas that you’re not necessarily comfortable with. Try a lot of things—you can do all of them!”

Contact

Izzie Gall (egall4@utk.edu)