Mike is a rare combination of energy operator, global strategist, and technical scientist. Before co-founding Birch, Mike served as Partner and Global Lead of Geothermal at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he led the firm's geothermal practice and advised energy majors on geothermal power and heat.

Prior to BCG, Mike held operator roles as both a drilling and reservoir engineer, specializing in CO2-enhanced oil recovery in West Texas with Kinder Morgan and Oxy, which translates directly to the subsurface fluid management and reservoir characterization challenges at the core of geothermal development. He also served in leadership at renewable technology ventures Carbon America and Storworks Power, giving him hands-on experience across the full energy value chain, from conventional upstream operations to commercial-scale renewable solutions. He’s an advisory board member for both universities and energy startups, including the Colorado School of Mines, Critical Energy, Terraferno, and Oxylus Energy.

He holds a PhD in Chemistry from Rice University, a B.S. in Chemistry from the US Naval Academy, and multiple Guinness World Records for rowing the Atlantic Ocean.