Michael is the Founder and Managing Director of the Collier Group. He has spent his entire professional career in sales, starting as a rookie sales rep with IBM and earning the prestigious Golden Circle award twice. He then moved into sales management and was instrumental in turning around the worst-performing branch in the country into the first within two years. He later worked for GE Capital, where he became vice president of sales for one of its divisions.
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Michael then went on to help turn around two smaller, financially troubled companies, one of which was acquired by MCI. He later co-founded a data and telecom services company, and created and led its sales organization through one of the most difficult economic periods in the United States. Through his efforts, the company's consistent growth and impressive profitability resulted in its successful acquisition by Spectrum Equity.
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His business philosophy is simple: Any problem in business can be fixed with more sales.
He began consulting for private equity firms, helping turnaround portfolio companies that were lagging in performance, by quickly transforming their sales organizations and creating a strong revenue engine. Working closely with all senior management members, he aligns sales operations and marketing with product development and other functional units to reduce cost of sales, maximize ROI and achieve business goals. As a member of executive committees, Michael has worked closely with board members and investors to combine organic growth strategies with external partnerships and acquisitions to achieve desired revenue and EBITDA targets. He has been instrumental in raising over $925 million in investment capital to fund successful growth initiatives.
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Michael started the Collier Group to provide focused attention to a small group of clients who are committed to addressing the core problem of their sales organization - its people. Michael personally leads all client engagements and directs a team of proven sales leaders to establish an effective and sustainable sales talent management system.
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Michael earned a BA in History and English from the University of North Carolina and attended the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, completing executive education programs in finance, executive management, and leadership.