About

Not your typical finance guy.

I'm the person companies bring in when the finance problem isn't just a finance problem. It's tangled up in operations, systems, compliance, or all three at once. I've been a public company CFO managing SEC filings and DCAA audits, and I've been the first finance hire at a startup that didn't have a chart of accounts yet. I'm comfortable in both places, which turns out to be rare.

Over more than 20 years, I've worked across the full range of Silicon Valley finance at companies such as Teknowledge, Nanofactory, Sensfix, and NextFlex. Public companies, venture-backed startups, government contractors, and DOD-funded R&D institutes. I've built FP&A functions from scratch, led ERP implementations, survived six DCAA audits, and helped companies raise capital. I've also spent real time integrating AI into financial workflows. Not as a buzzword, but as an operational tool with measurable results.

I write about the problems I see and how I solve them. Recent articles cover AI-driven FP&A transformation, systems thinking for finance leaders, and why data integration matters more than the algorithm.

Columbia Business School (MBA, Finance) · Cornell University (BA, Economics & English)

Approach

How I work.

Listen first, fix second.

I start by talking to people. Leadership of course, but also the people doing the day-to-day work. I need to understand what the company actually does, how the data flows, and where finance connects to operations before I touch anything. The relationships I build in the first few weeks are what make everything after that possible.

Diagnose the real problem.

What leadership thinks is broken and what's actually broken aren't always the same thing. I figure out what's really going on, then bring options back to the people who know the company best, with timelines, costs, and tradeoffs laid out so they can make the call. I'm there to help, not to second-guess.

Hands on. Early wins.

I do the grunt work myself. It's the only way to fully understand what's happening. I go after early wins that make people's work easier, so they want to work with me. I tinker, iterate, and adapt rather than over-plan. When it's done, the solution works, the team is hired and trained, and I've documented everything.

What People Say

"I had the pleasure of working with Michael when we brought him into our avionics systems startup on the recommendation of Joe Costello, the former CEO of Cadence who later worked with Michael. Michael set up our financial systems, hired a terrific person for the day-to-day accounting and really helped us with fundraising. I thought our pitch deck was pretty good, but Michael really took it to the professional level. He's simply the most well-rounded finance guy I've ever worked with."

Jason Matthews

SpaceX

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If you're looking for a senior finance professional who'll walk into hard conversations, spot the problems before they become crises, and build the infrastructure that lets the rest of the company move fast, I'd like to hear from you.

Some companies need a consultant who solves a problem and moves on. Others need someone who stays and runs the department. I've done both.

Not your typical finance guy.

How I work.

Listen first, fix second.

Diagnose the real problem.

Hands on. Early wins.

Let's talk about what's next.