Michael serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Venture Compass. Previously, Michael spent over 15 years as an attorney for Fortune 500 companies guiding them through complex business transactions. Most recently, Michael served as an advisor to Kinder Morgan, Inc., the premier midstream energy company in the United States. During this period Kinder Morgan grew from $2 billion in assets and 500 employees to $40 billion in assets and 9000 employees. Michael has completed well over $2 billion in transactions, primarily in the areas of acquiring, divesting, financing, and developing assets for his former employers, Kinder Morgan and ARCO. Michael has acquired privately held businesses, subsidiaries of major corporations, large equity positions in start up high tech companies, and a variety of assets. Additionally, he has negotiated and concluded development, construction, and financing agreements for power plants and other facilities and guided clients through complicated, long term commercial arrangements. Michael holds degrees in engineering, law, and business. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1985, his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1989, and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1997.