Our Team

Mike has over 30 years of strategy and corporate development experience within the consumer sector.  His understanding of value creation and brand strategy stems from his broad experience working with some of the largest and most respected domestic and global consumer brands.

Mike is currently the President of CST Consulting (www.CSTConsultingPartners.com), a strategy firm he founded that offers strategic advice and analysis in the consumer products industry.  CST works with private equity funds and consumer products companies in identifying opportunities as well as structuring and executing transactions.  Prior to forming CST, Mike was the Vice President of Global External Development at Kraft Foods.   While at Kraft, Mike’s team executed over 40 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $40 billion.  He helped lead the transformation of Kraft from a predominately North American company reliant on traditional grocery categories to a firm with a significant presence in developing countries, including the largest global confectionery portfolio.  Before leaving Kraft, he was also deeply involved in the spin-off of Kraft Foods and Mondelez into separate public companies, which unlocked significant value for legacy Kraft stockholders. Before joining Kraft, Mike held Corporate Development and Strategy positions at Altria, AT&T, Unilever, United Brands, and Air Products & Chemicals.  He also worked in Strategic Market Research at Unilever.

Mike received his BA, with a concentration in Economics, from Northwestern University and received his MBA, with a concentration in Finance, from Northwestern’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.  While at Northwestern, he received the Rosenfeld scholarship in Economics, and was an econometrics research assistant.  He was also formerly member of the Kellogg Alumni Council, advisor to the Kellogg Chicago chapter, and was a Trustee for The Ravinia Music Festival in Chicago.