Michael Fitzpatrick

INFORMATION SECURITY SENIOR ARCHITECT, EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES
1992, B.S., COMPUTER ENGINEERING, CSULB

Long Beach native Michael Fitzpatrick came to CSULB as a President’s Scholar and computer engineering major during a period of unprecedented growth in internet usage — the ideal launch pad for a 30-plus-year career in information technology and cybersecurity. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Fitzpatrick went on to earn numerous industry certifications, including those from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and The Open Group (Architecture Framework) and was instrumental in helping companies such as SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, Hyundai, Experian and TRW protect and secure financial services, credit reports, and corporate intellectual property. Fitzpatrick is currently a senior information security architect and lead member of the Information Security Governance Risk and Compliance team at Edwards Lifesciences, an Irvine-based company that develops technologies to treat heart disease and critical illness. Looking back, his two-plus years as the lead UNIX administrator for Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Mars Global Surveyor stand out as a career highlight. “I was able to assist the team in building out the technology services required by the science team to design, build, and eventually launch the mission,” he says. The job ultimately took him to Cape Canaveral, Florida, where he spent the final six weeks of the project providing support in the lead-up to the launch. Fitzpatrick is part of a Beach family that includes his father, two uncles, a cousin and a niece. He looks forward to seeing his daughter graduate this spring.

From 2025 Alumni Awards program