The CEO of ServiceNow Elite partner GlideFast Consulting was widely known as the “mayor of ServiceNow,” a title he bestowed on himself but which resonated well over the years with partners and competitors alike because of how much he gave to society and to the IT community.

Michael Lombardo, the CEO of GlideFast Consulting and the self-proclaimed “mayor of ServiceNow,” died July 6 from cancer at the age of 37.

Lombardo is survived by his wife Jessica and two daughters, Sophia and Olivia. A funeral mass will be held July 13 at 11 a.m. ET at St. Anthony’s Church in Revere, Mass.

Lombardo had battled cancer for some time, but it came back suddenly to claim him. He had been planning to attend the ServiceNow Knowledge 2024 conference in May, but cancelled at the last minute. His final posting on LinkedIn was to wish everyone a happy July 4.

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Lombardo, who founded Waltham, Mass.-based Elite ServiceNow channel partner GlideFast in mid-2015, was well liked in the ServiceNow channel community, and was a major supporter of not only ServiceNow but of his fellow channel partners.

Lauren Jankowski, vice president of marketing at GlideFast, told CRN that Lombardo passed peacefully.

“His sister just stated that on his last day, he went and got ice cream with his two daughters and watched a movie with his wife that night,” Jankowski said. “And then it just kind of happened very unexpectedly, but peacefully and quickly.”

Jankowski said it is hard to put into words the legacy that Lombardo leaves.

“He founded the company in 2015,” she said. “I think he just wanted to create the right culture. You know, it sounds cringy calling a company a family, but GlideFast was different for Mike, and it truly was a family. I mean, we just got off an hour-and-a-half call with every employee sharing different stories about Mike and how impactful he was whether it was a text message, a donation, sending something, just calling someone. It was amazing.”

Lombardo achieved many milestones in his career, Jankowski said. GlideFast was named ServiceNow Americas Elite Segment Partner of the Year in both 2022 and 2023, and in 2023 was named ServiceNow Americas Customer Workflow Partner of the Year. She said Lombardo was an EY Entrepreneur of the Year last year in the New England Division.

Lombardo was also a big philanthropist, and sat on the board of directors for the Joe Andruzzi Foundation, which provides financial aid to cancer patients going through cancer treatments.

Lombardo, who did not finish high school, graduated from Year Up, a non-profit to support young adults gain the skills and experiences to support their future careers and higher education, and received his GED. He just recently donated a laptop to every graduate from the Boston chapter of that organization, Jankowski said. “So he’s very passionate about that as well,” she said.

Despite the death of Lombardo, it will be business as usual at GlideFast, Jankowski said.

“That’s what Mike would want,” she said. “I mean, he was sending messages about work on Friday, the day before he passed, and making sure people put in their time cards and things like that.”

Jankowski said that current Chief Operating Officer Jarred Pippy will be the acting CEO until further notice.

Ellen Daley, who was CEO of ServiceNow consultancy Acorio when it was acquired by NTT Data in 2020, said Lombardo was working at that company when he decided to leave to start his own business.

“I really wanted him to stay at Acorio, but he really wanted to do his own business,” she said. “And then I was like, ‘Well, yeah, go for it, dude. Do it.’ Originally, I wanted to keep that really talented guy. But yeah, but then I encouraged him and we remained friendly for years.”

Lombardo was in many ways larger than life, Daley said.

“He’s got grit,” she said. “He didn’t graduate from high school. But then he went and got his GED. When he was a little bit older, he did Year Up. He was super outgoing and relentless. So as he got into the ServiceNow ecosystem, he just met everyone. And then when he started GlideFast, he knew that having relationships with ServiceNow was really important. And he was just a natural people person. He loved people.”

ServiceNow changed Lombardo both financially and via the opportunity it gave him, Daley said.

“He became ServiceNow’s greatest supporter, and he became the mayor of ServiceNow,” she said. “He called himself that. We all called him that because he was relentless about supporting ServiceNow and helping clients leverage ServiceNow.”

Lombardo’s biggest legacy, however, is that of a real people person, Daley said.

“Mike really cared about people,” she said. “If someone was having family trouble, he would personally call and ask, ‘How can I help?’ If he had to let somebody go, he would try to find them a job even as his company got really, really big. He was very active in Year Up. I think just a couple weeks ago, he donated laptops to the whole graduating class of Year Up. And he was also really involved in the Joe Andruzzi Foundation, which is a cancer organization. He put his money where his mouth is. He was generous, fun, smart, and completely self-made.”

Lombardo’s legacy is his bigger-than-life personality, said Rick Wright, CEO of CoreX, an Addison, Texas-based ServiceNow channel partner.

“He was always there,” Wright told CRN. “Like, ServiceNow was opening an office in New York, and he was there. Someone needed to get to Knowledge, he chartered a plane, he was there. Everything ServiceNow, he seemed to find a way to become a part of. He was the self-proclaimed mayor of ServiceNow, and that speaks to his bigger-than-life personality and how connected he was to every little aspect of the ecosystem.”

Lombardo went from a self-made man to architect GlideFast, a 500-person-plus successful company, Wright said.

“All of that was Mike,” he said. “He was all-in on the ServiceNow ecosystem from every aspect. And you don’t see too many people like that out there.”

Wright met Lombardo while Wright worked at ServiceNow.

“GlideFast was always one of the partners that we would count on for either co-selling or co-delivering with us,” he said. “He always showed up. Mike would do anything. GlideFast had that kind of culture of, ‘We’ll tag into any project.’ Good people, good quality, always kind of trying to be up on the latest and the greatest. A very valuable partner in the ecosystem.”

A Big Presence As A ServiceNow Partner

Anthony Torsiello, who as ServiceNow’s group vice president of global partnerships and channels knew Lombardo since GlideFast was formed, told CRN that Lombardo embodied what it means to be authentic, passionate, and apologetically bold in the way he lived his life.

“Anyone lucky enough to have known him can attest to his passion for his family, friends, GlideFast, and ServiceNow,” Torsiello said. “And it’s really what makes losing Michael, such a huge blow to all of us.”

Lombardo was the kind of guy who would light up a room by his presence, Torsiello said.

“I know that’s a cliche,” he said. “But truly, when he was in a room, whether it was a small room with two or three people, or literally 1,000 people, he made the room just brighter, happier.”

Lombardo had a strong ‘say-do’ ratio, which Torsiello said refers to following through on promises.

“You pretty much know where you stand with Michael,” he said. “He was in every single advisory council meeting since we started the advisory councils four years ago, whether it was a one-on-one meeting or a bigger meeting. No matter who was there or what was said in that meeting, no matter what we committed to on both sides, Michael always followed through. You always knew there was action coming out of that meeting. That’s kind of a lost art these days. Michael had that in spades. A man of his word.”

Lombardo was a hyper competitive person, which in many cases can cause a lot of friction, but not in Lombardo’s case, Torsiello said.

“What I will say about Michael’s competitiveness, and one thing I really value is, that he made everyone around him, including the partners he was competing with, better,” he said. “That’s not easy to do. Most people get competitive, they get uncomfortable, they do things that you might not do under other circumstances. He was so competitive. But then if you saw him at a ServiceNow Knowledge conference or a sales kickoff or an advisory council, when he was in that room he truly cared about making others better. He knew if other partners were better, ServiceNow would be better in the long run, and it would have been better for GlideFast.”

It’s also important to honor Lombardo’s legacy of giving back, Torsiello said.

“There’s no one else I’ve ever met in my life as young as he was help so many people,” he said. “We still need people like that. He gave back, not just charitably, but every person that worked either for GlideFast or that came in contact with him is better off, and not just financially, but as a person, as a human. That’s an aspect that we lose sight of a little bit in this business, but there’s a human aspect to it. That’s the thing that hurts the most, the connection that he had with so many people, including myself.”

Michael Lombardo was a generous and inspirational leader, wrote Erica Volini, senior vice president of global partnerships and channels at ServiceNow, via email to CRN.

“Michael brought the kind of energy and passion that changed minds and transformed lives. His unwavering commitment to GlideFast and ServiceNow has left a lasting mark on our teams. It was an honor to work alongside Michael and we will continue to honor his legacy,” Volini said.