I’ve had the good fortune to work with Mike for nearly 15 years. We first worked together as members of a team assembled to lead the revitalization of companies that had suffered from ineffective leadership, poor operational execution and “upside-down” balance sheets, to being of critical importance to me and others as we worked to resurrect and build a national outpatient clinical services company.
Michael is trusted partner and expert in understanding the accounting behind a company’s operations. By this I mean the essence of what the numbers are saying: what does it cost to manufacture a product or provide a service? What customers are generating true contribution margin? What are the choke points affecting performance and how can departments, processes and operations be disaggregated and reassembled so that they, collectively, deliver the support necessary to exceed customers’ satisfaction, execute the business plan and maximize RONA?
Michael’s work has resulted in companies in crisis being turned around, refinanced and put on a path to sustained profitability. As the lead person asked to help with a critical financing of highly distressed company I led, Michael’s work resulted in the company securing $25 million of debt and equity financing at the nadir of the financial crisis. This capital infusion allowed us to recapitalize and invest in the people and systems necessary to execute our plan, which resulted in a modest regional player threatened with liquidation to become the third largest national provider in the country of a particular suite of healthcare services.
Mike’s a very quick study – one must be in working to evaluate a company’s situation, from underperforming to start-up, from a company performing adequately to one its new owners expect to scale. As a member of the team assigned to provide support to company leadership and/or its owners, Mike’s critical thinking, his ability to test and provide information to support executable plans, and to instill trust in people who work with and for him across the organization, have been fundamental to our success.