Biography
Michael has been investing in venture capital and private equity transactions in the clean technology sector for nine years, and joined Element in 2006. His primary areas of focus include advanced materials, alternative fuels, green building materials, energy technology, and alternative chemicals.
Prior to Element, Michael was a partner in Cordova Ventures' Industrial Technology Fund. At Cordova, Michael worked on all aspects of fund operations and served on the Fund's investment committee. Prior to Cordova, Michael was a principal at EnerTech Capital Partners. Before starting his private equity career, Michael was a management consultant at Booz-Allen & Hamilton focusing on the aerospace, building controls, and consumer products industries. Michael has also worked in the finance area at Ford Motor Company and in operations management at Weirton Steel.
Michael serves on the boards of directors of companies including Apex Construction Systems, Inc., Aspex Corp., and EcoSMART Technologies, Inc. Previous boards on which Michael has served as a member or observer include Arbinet-thexchange, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBX), Avista Advantage, Inc., Axonn, LLC, Ecovation, Inc., Five Star Technologies, Inc., International Fiber, and Nanomix, Inc. Michael was also previously involved in Safeguard International's initial investment in REC, a Norwegian solar power company, and worked closely with the boards at Catalytic Solutions, Inc. and Orcom Solutions, Inc.
Michael holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech where he graduated first in his class. Michael received a Master's degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated as a Palmer Scholar (Top 5%).
