Michael is a Co-CEO leading Strategy, Capital, Networks, and strategic finance at Next Street. In early 2021 Michael was selected to lead the US Small Business Administration for the Biden-Harris Administration on a temporary basis until current Administrator Isabel Guzman was confirmed in the Senate. For the 60 days that Michael served in the Administration, he made decisions on over $1 Trillion of funding to small businesses, including implementing $300B+ from the December 2020 legislation, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), managing the portfolio of $700B+ from the CARES Act, and drafting legislation for $60B+ of new small business policy as part of the American Rescue Plan. Michael managed fraud, waste, and abuse risk without sacrificing speed of funding; and led the 12,000 person agency through a large transformation in mission and administration.
Michael led policy changes, community engagement, and a “whole of government” effort around the PPP, which led to a weekly:
- 25% increase in loans to first-time PPP borrowers
- 20% increase in loans to minority-owned businesses
- 14% increase in loans to women-owned businesses
On working at Next Street
I remember working around the clock stocking shelves in my dad’s athletic footwear store in Newark, NJ when the Air Jordan was first released. The sales of that shoe altered my life trajectory and shaped my passion for economic opportunity. At Next Street, I get to work every day towards building an inclusive economic system that ensures all people have access to the same opportunity I had.
In his role at Next Street, Michael is responsible for implementing all aspects of the firm’s strategy, building partnerships and products that can support small businesses at scale, and overseeing Next Street’s Capital business and Network. He joined the firm in 2014 as a Senior Analyst. Since joining the firm, Michael has delivered over 100 client engagements, helped launch Next Street’s Chicago office, and supported the launch of a new business line.
Prior to Next Street, Michael worked as a management consultant at IBM, banking at JP Morgan Chase, and helped lead a CDFI and microfinance institution. Michael has a BS in Finance from Lehigh University and has an MBA at The Wharton School.
Outside of Next Street
In his spare time, Michael enjoys cycling and hiking, reading business, history and psychology books, and volunteering for local political campaigns.