Company Performance Metrics
- Michael Levinson: Independent Director & Strategic AdvisorPast Role: Spyre Infostructure, President / CEO
YouNeedaStrategy.com is the strategic advisory practice of Michael Levinson, an independent director and strategic advisor with four decades of experience building, operating, and governing across hospitality, technology, and regulated industries. The practice serves a deliberately small number of founder-led and family-owned enterprises at genuine
inflection points — exit preparation, governance formalization, AI integration, and technology-driven disruption. Engagements range from board-level strategic advisory to independent director appointments. Michael's operating background includes 35 years building and running two award-winning Ottawa hotel properties (sold 2020), founding BookDirect — one of the first online hotel reservation platforms — and leading technology companies serving the hospitality and aviation sectors. He most recently served as Board Chair of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO), a statutory regulator overseeing 2,400 registered businesses, where he led a governance restructuring, an Auditor General Value for Money Audit, and the implementation of a new industry funding model. The practice operates from a core positioning: operator-level judgment combined with regulator-tested governance discipline — for organizations where the cost of a wrong call is measured in years, not quarters.