How We Work Now: Michael Levin, Entrepreneur

We’ve known Michael Levin for many years, but we never really knew what he did. It turns out that like many of us, his professional path has been fulls of twists and turns.

In Michael’s case, he has a talent for coming out on top and moving full speed ahead.

Michael Levin

It happens that Michael is able to analyze complex financial structures to evaluate and manage risk. His University of Chicago education probably helped him develop this talent. But when we sat down with Michael at Max’s Deli, he told me he’d become a “concert ticket dad.”

First Question…obvious.

What is a concert ticket dad?

While growing up in Highland Park in the 1970′s, Michael had friends whose fathers were home during the day. These guys were traders or entrepreneurs or musicians. They didn’t keep regular hours, and no one knew what, exactly, they did for a living. But they got great concert tickets…hence the name.

And how did Michael become a concert ticket dad?

Long story short: After Michael graduated from the University of Chicago, he began a corporate career track in risk management. Between 1985 and 2000 he worked as a consultant for four different large companies. After leaving corporate life in 2006, he too, started working as an entrepreneur, and hence became a father who is home during the day. (Although he claims he still doesn’t have the connections for the really good concert tickets.)

And in 2001…on to Singapore?

Michael moved with his wife Adrienne and their three children Mollye, Sophie and Louis, to Singapore to work for Bearing Point, a management and technology consulting company. The opportunity exposed the family to Asian culture as they traveled to Bali, Thailand, China and Hong Kong. The Levins developed a taste for Indian food, and the kids began to learn Mandarin.

Little India, Singapore

But it was 2001….

Right. The overseas business climate deteriorated following the terrorist attacks of September 11, and cut short the Levin’s stay in Singapore. They returned home.

Time for some stability?

Absolutely, Michael worked for Nicor, the gas company for northern Illinois. It’s a slower-moving environment than global management consulting. While employed there for three years, he learned about the energy business.

Then a restructure….

So began life without a W-2 and outside the corporate environment. He wrote academic articles on risk management; collected a year’s worth of direct mail catalogs just to see what they would look like all piled up, and started working with two different clean-coal technology ventures: a medical diagnostic company, and an imaging technology start-up. Most recently he has engaged in activist investing.

Activist Investing? Explain.

Shareholders theoretically own the companies in which they invest. In principle shareholders delegate power to run the companies to the board of directors. Yet, often the candidates for the board are chosen by CEOs or other C-level positions. This relationship does not always create strong management oversight.

Click here for the New York Times story about the activist investing movement.

When Michael owned 1,000 shares of McDonalds, he managed to meet with their CEO. Michael was concerned about the direction of the company. This led Michael to learn more about the very small universe of fund managers, family offices, institutional investors, and the companies in their portfolios.

Michael currently works with Hedge Fund Solutions on activist investing. He and his partners consult on activist investing strategies, write a weekly newsletter, blog frequently, and otherwise stay current on shareholder activism. Their objectives include starting a hedge fund, consulting with activist investors, creating value-added company analyses and building their reputations as an agents for effective change.

On Tuesday, September 22 and Wednesday, September 23, Michael will be attending the third annual Hedge Fund Activism and Shareholder Summit.

Click here for the Hedge Fund Solutions blog.

Or e-mail Michael for information about Hedge Fund Solutions.