I’m Schnitzel - Drupal contributor, volunteer, board experienced CTO in Europe, USA, South Africa, and more!

My name is Michael Schmid, but everybody calls me “Schnitzel”. The nickname began during my school days and stuck with me as my online presence grew. You may know me from DrupalCon as the long-haired guy yelling directions to you for official group photos like in Amsterdam or Los Angeles. (In Barcelona I actually managed to hop in the photo!)

I was a candidate for the At-Large position in 2015, and at the encouragement of fellow Drupalers I am running again as I feel I can still contribute and with my global knowledge and experience in the community and business management I will represent the Drupal community within the Association Board.

Much like the true spirit of the Drupal community, I too identify as a global citizen. In my position as Group CTO I travel regularly between continents and meet people from all over the world.

I began my Drupal journey when I joined a company called Amazee in 2009. We consisted of just 6 employees with myself as one of only two developers. At my first DrupalCon, Copenhagen 2010, I attended with the goal to learn how to improve our sites. Instead I was completely astounded to discover that behind the great open source software was a great community.
Ever since Copenhagen I’ve been hooked on Drupal. I’ve yet to miss a US or Europe DrupalCon, and continue contribute to the project in various ways.

• I’ve helped organize multiple DrupalCons, planned camps, and run multiple sprints.
• I regularly give talks, trainings and participate on podcasts focusing on Drupal improvement.
• I am a Sprint Mentor, guiding both individuals and groups through the most important aspect of our community - the process of contributing to Drupal.
• I meet with CxO’s whose companies use Drupal to explain why they too should be more than users and contribute to the Drupal project.
• Finally, I’m a member of the D8MI (Drupal 8 Multilingual Initiative) where I help write the code for making Drupal 8 awesome. This contribution is dear to my heart as it’s my passion and what first brought me to Drupal, the code.

My Drupal involvement has helped lead me to my role as Group CTO of Amazee and shareholder of Amazee Holding, which owns Amazee Labs offices in Zurich, Switzerland, Austin, USA and Cape Town, South Africa.

I am an open-minded individual, who thrives on constructive, goal-oriented, emotional yet respectful discussions with people of all knowledge and background. I lead with passion and empathy, but also always challenging my team members to try to bring the best out of everybody - myself included.
I work hard and am no stranger to sleepless nights in pursuit of a goal. My abundant energy allows me to be an exceptional performer at work, allowing for my second career of contributing to the Drupal community. I have a clear understanding of the challenges to be faced in a Drupal Association Board position. I would take on this role of representative to help fellow Drupalers in various global regions strengthen in Drupal.

My favorite quote by Henry Ford defines my personal ideology for success:
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”