Michael Levinson
Independent Director & Strategic Advisor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Michael Levinson is an independent director and strategic advisor with nearly four decades of experience across hospitality, real estate, technology, and governance. He brings operator-level judgment and regulator-tested governance discipline to organizations navigating AI disruption, growth transitions, and institutional complexity.
He most recently served as Board Chair of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO), a statutory regulator responsible for consumer protection, industry oversight, and an industry-funded compensation framework across 2,400 registered travel businesses. Appointed during the height of COVID-19, he led the board through a governance restructuring, an Auditor General Value for Money Audit, the implementation of a new industry funding model, and the launch of a modernized education platform — while reporting directly to the responsible Minister.
Michael's operating background includes opening and running two award-winning Ottawa hotel properties over 30 years, converting distressed and underperforming assets into market-leading businesses before exiting in 2020. He conceived and launched BookDirect, one of the first online hotel reservation platforms globally, scaling it across hundreds of properties and leading the technology company behind it for 18 years.
He now advises founder-led and family-owned enterprises on governance, AI integration, and digital transformation through YouNeedaStrategy.com.