About Mike - The Athlete

Mike was born and raised in the coal fields of southern West Virginia - Beckley to be exact. As long has he can remember he has loved sports and the competitive nature of games. He recalls attending basketball games with his parents during the long, cold winters of West Virginia and feeling the excitement generated by the crowd and the teams. To Mike, the excitement was addictive and something he wanted to be a part of. Even the smell of the gym and freshly popped popcorn generated an aura of excitement and memories that have stayed with him to this day. One of his most memorable experiences as a youngster, which solidified his desire to be an athlete, was a Christmas present from his parents to attend a basketball camp held by his favorite player, the legendary Los Angeles Laker star and pro basketball Hall of Famer, Jerry West.

During high school, Mike excelled at sports lettering in four different sports (Football, Basketball, Track, and Golf) for three straight years. During the summers, Mike would work in various basketball camps around the region during the day and at the local coal preparation plant at night as a fire watcher. This experience, although unappreciated by him at the time, ultimately became a catalyst that has motivated Mike throughout his professional career. Also, at 6'5", it didn't take Mike long to realize that a job working in the low coal of southern West Virginia would not be a good career choice. So, he focused on athletics and academics as a way to a different career.

His athletic and academic career continued at the collegiate level at West Virginia Tech. While at Tech, he majored and graduated in 1984 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He also lettered in basketball for three straight years for the then NAIA powerhouse, Golden Bears. Some of Mike's teammates at Tech included former Los Angeles Laker and NBA standout Sedale Threatt and former Harlem Globetrotter Antoine Scott. In 1982, Mike and his teammates earned the status of "Outstanding Athlete" in the state of West Virginia from then-Governor John D. Rockefeller, IV.

In 1999, Michael was the first person inducted into his high school's (Independence High School) Basketball Hall of Fame. This was a great honor, which was made even sweeter by having his Mom, Dad, Wife (Lori), and two sons (Taylor and Garrett) attend the induction ceremony.

Mike firmly believes that with hard work, perseverance, and faith in God, great things can be accomplished. In the dedication section of his first book, Delivering Project Excellence with the Statement of Work, he thanked his Mom and Dad for teaching him the importance of these elements. Their life's example has provided him with an outstanding foundation for his own professional, personal, and spiritual life. Mike’s athletic background is also the catalyst for his next book,

Cohesion – The Power Behind Successful Teams, scheduled to be released in 2024.

About Mike - The Professional

Mike began his career in the Jacksonville (FL) District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where he spent the first 11 years of his career. The genesis of Mike’s background in project management and risk management began here and was refined during those early years.

In the mid-1990s, he made the move from public service to the private sector. With this move came many challenges. Not only did he change industry sectors, but he also changed the types of projects he was managing. At the Corps, his work was focused specifically on construction and rehabilitation projects; however, his new role was in the technology sector for a systems integrator by the name of Entex Information Services. Although this move provided many challenges, Mike was able to apply his past experience to a new industry and be successful. After only two years in his new role, he was awarded the National Best Practice Award for the development of a standard Statement of Work. This change provided Mike with a unique perspective and valuable experience that is rare in this age of specialization. The lessons learned in overcoming these challenges have also allowed him to bring a tremendous amount of value and provide a positive return on investment to his clients by helping them avoid pitfalls that they may not be aware of and ultimately helping them to be more profitable and deliver a higher level of quality service to their clients.

Mike’s diverse experience and background ultimately attracted the eye of some of the most respected and prestigious consulting and technology firms in the world, including Arthur Andersen, LLP, KPMG, LLP, and Microsoft Corporation. At Arthur Andersen, he was a Senior Manager in the Business Consulting Practice, where he was in charge of leading the design, development, and deployment of the firm-wide Program and Project Management methodology and training curriculum within the Andersen Architected Solutions (AS) Methodology.

After the collapse of Andersen in 2002, he joined KPMG, LLP, where he was Project Risk Management (PRM) champion for the Americas. By the third year of delivering these services, the practice was generating over $45 million per year. Following the split between KPMG and BearingPoint, his next move took him to the number one technology leader in the world (at the time) – Microsoft Corporation, where he was the worldwide Director of Project Management Excellence (PMx). In this role, he was responsible for establishing firm-wide standards on how projects were managed and delivered to clients globally with Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS).

In 2007, Mike made the decision to go out on his own full-time as President of the M2 Consulting Group, Ltd. In addition to the services offered through the M2 Consulting Group, Mike is also a guest lecturer for Emory University’s Center for Lifelong Learning, where he teaches courses for the Project Management Certificate Program. In just a few short years the list of clients being served by Mike includes such noted organizations as: AT&T, Home Depot, Maxxis Tires, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Yamaha Motor Company, CareerBuilder, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Defense Logistics Agency, Masco Contractor Services.