Michael Angelo Meyer
Michael Angelo Meyer is the founder and strategic lead at software and technology company El Niño. He has more than twenty years of experience in software development, IT architecture, and building and leading technical teams.
Michael grew up in southern Spain (Marbella) and attended international schools. While still in high school, he co-founded his first company with a classmate: a hosting business that grew into one of the largest in Spain and managed thousands of websites. During that time, he was already deeply involved in topics such as scalability, infrastructure, and the automation of business processes.
At the age of sixteen, he moved to the Netherlands to study at the University of Twente, where he earned a BSc in Computer Science and an MSc in Business Information Technology. During his studies, he closed his hosting company. Shortly afterward, he founded El Niño, partly out of necessity to finance his studies and partly to continue pursuing his entrepreneurial ambitions.
For the first eight to nine years, Michael primarily worked as a freelance software developer. His technical expertise lies in developing custom applications, with a strong focus on backend architecture and integrations (including PHP and JavaScript). He was frequently hired by larger agencies and organizations to stabilize, restructure, and successfully deliver complex or stalled projects. This role gave him deep insight into why IT projects fail and where structural mistakes occur in decision-making, design, and execution.
In the years that followed, Michael continued to grow El Niño and gradually shifted his role from developer to project manager, account manager, and ultimately strategic lead. Today he focuses on technology strategy, organizational development, HR, finance, and sales, always connecting technical decisions to long-term impact and feasibility. Michael is known for his pragmatic approach to new technology. He closely follows developments such as AI and cloud architectures, but always evaluates them from the perspective of technical reality, costs, risks, and real added value. This combination of deep technical knowledge and strategic leadership forms the core of his expertise as a speaker.
Michael about tech startups at OMGKRK Hangout
Selected talks by Michael:
How to transition to European technology
The call to reduce dependence on non-European technology is growing louder. But once you move beyond the intentions, the real work begins. What does “switching to European technology” actually mean for your infrastructure, software, and costs?
For more than 20 years, Michael has worked with organizations on conscious technology choices—from data centers to custom software. In this talk, he explains how to approach such a transition in practice, which decisions truly matter, and what you need to consider if you want to maintain control over your IT—without being naïve about the consequences.
A pragmatic look at AI
AI seems capable of almost everything these days—or at least that’s what is promised. But what actually works in practice, and what remains stuck in demos and marketing claims?
Based on years of experience with AI applications in sectors such as energy, healthcare, and recruitment, Michael presents a realistic view of both the possibilities and the limitations of AI. He explains how to implement AI responsibly from a technical perspective, which choices are critical, and whether AI truly makes organizations more efficient. No hype—just practice.
More innovation with a diverse team
Great technology rarely emerges from a one-sided team. At El Niño, Michael has spent more than twenty years working with people from diverse backgrounds to solve complex technical challenges.
In this talk, he shows why diversity is not only a moral choice but also a practical one. What does it bring in terms of creativity and problem-solving? What challenges arise when building such teams? And why do the real benefits often only become visible in the long term? With concrete examples from the daily practice of a technology company.
The cultural gap between decision-makers and builders
Why do so many IT projects run over time, budget, and expectations? Often the problem is not the technology itself, but the gap between decision-makers and the people who build it.
Michael has worked with large clients for over twenty years and is involved in an innovation program with the municipality of Enschede that explores how technology can address societal challenges. In this talk, he unpacks the differences in language, pace, and mindset between executives and developers—and shows how better collaboration can lead to better outcomes. Recognizable to anyone who has ever been involved in an IT project.