About Andrea Michalek
I’ve spent 30 years at the intersection of building breakthrough products and leading teams through the messy reality of transformation.
I’m best known as the co-founder of Plum Analytics, where I pioneered the field of altmetrics, fundamentally changing how research impact is measured.
Under my leadership as CEO, we created an entirely new category, were acquired by EBSCO in 2014, then became part of Elsevier in 2017, where I served as VP of Research Metrics.
But the thread that runs through my entire career, from designing the first unified academic search engine to advising startups through rapid scale, is this:
Most teams are not failing due to poor execution. They’re succeeding at optimizing the wrong things.
That insight shaped how I work with product leaders today.
My Story
I’ve spent my career building transformative software products and leading high-performing teams through impossible trade-offs.
Early in my career, I designed the technology behind the Summon search engine, the first discovery service to unify search across academic subscription content. This innovation fundamentally transformed how researchers and students access scholarly literature.
In 2012, I co-founded Plum Analytics and pioneered the field of altmetrics, which modernized how research impact is measured. We created an entirely new category.
As CEO, I led the company through acquisition by EBSCO in 2014, then integration into Elsevier in 2017, where I served as VP of Research Metrics and led the integration of next-generation metrics across Elsevier’s research and publishing platforms.
Through Plum Analytics, I learned what it takes to build category-creating products: the difference between optimizing for what investors want to hear and transforming the constraints that actually block progress. The gap between “innovation theater” and breakthrough work that ships.
In 2018, I rebuilt both my business and my life after a brain injury that required multi-year rehabilitation. Doctors said I’d be fine in 72 hours. It took 3 years.
That experience didn’t just deepen my perspective on resilience and leading through uncertainty. It taught me something fundamental about transformation:
The timeline is never what you expect, and real change happens when you stop optimizing around the problem and start transforming how you operate entirely.
That same principle applies to organizations.
My Work Today
Since 2021, I’ve run Topular Strategy, where I work as a fractional CTO/CPO, strategic advisor, and executive coach to product leaders navigating the impossible middle. That place where “move faster” collides with “think strategically” and every decision feels high-stakes.
I work with:
- Startup founders scaling fast while building strategic foundations that last
- Enterprise product leaders launching new categories while navigating systems built for predictability
As a fractional CTO and advisor, I’ve helped startups and scale-ups navigate everything from technical architecture decisions to scaling product and engineering teams through rapid growth.
With deep expertise in data analytics, natural language processing, and AI-driven solutions, I work with companies on AI readiness and strategy, helping leadership teams understand where AI creates competitive advantage versus where it’s just noise.
My clients have successfully raised funding, achieved successful exits to strategic acquirers, and built technical organizations that outpaced their competitors.
Through the Beyond Incremental Framework, I help leaders:
- Move from optimizing within constraints to transforming them
- Make high-stakes decisions with clarity and conviction
- Build teams and systems that create momentum beyond my involvement
I also write the Leadership Advantage Newsletter, where 650+ product and tech leaders join me weekly to think beyond incremental, and I speak frequently on breakthrough leadership, innovation, and transformation.
Areas of Expertise
My 30 years of experience spans:
- Building transformative software products from 0 to 1
- Leading high-performing product and engineering teams
- Category creation and go-to-market strategy
- Data analytics, search and discovery, natural language processing, and AI-driven solutions
- AI readiness and strategy for product organizations
- Technical architecture and scaling decisions
- Navigating acquisitions and integrations
- Leadership through uncertainty and organizational change
Background
- Co-founder & CEO, Plum Analytics (acquired by EBSCO 2014, Elsevier 2017)
- VP of Research Metrics & Managing Director, Elsevier
- President Plum Analytics, EBSCO Information Services
- Architect / Director of Technology, Summon Discovery Service, Serials Solutions / ProQuest
- Founder: 1-800-CTO, advisor for many startups
- Former software development roles: GE Aerospace, Picker International, Infonautics (patent holder)
- Recognition: “Thirty Under 30” (Philly Tech Magazine), featured in Forbes, WSJ, and business publications
- Education: BS in Computational Biology (Carnegie Mellon), MS in Computer Science (Villanova)
- Former Adjunct Faculty: Erivan K. Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph’s University
Speaking & Thought Leadership
- Breakthrough leadership and transformation
- Building category-creating products
- Innovation vs. predictability in large organizations
- Women in technology and entrepreneurship
- Leading with clarity, courage, and impact
A trusted voice on innovation and strategic thinking, I’m passionate about helping product leaders build breakthrough products and lead through uncertainty.
Selected talks and media:
- How Plum Analytics was acquired – Keynote on creating a new category in research metrics, and the lessons I’ve learned.
- When Everything Changes – Podcast interview of Andrea by Laurel Haak on We Interrupt talking about my experience restarting my life after a brain injury.
- My Greatest Challenge – Embedded in a post about how important storytelling is, I share the story of overcoming my own greatest challenge.
Let's Work Together
If the decisions you’re making will define your company’s future, let’s talk.
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