Michael has more than 35 years as an international business, legal and compliance professional, specializing in responsible sourcing initiatives, social compliance programs and consumer products licensing arrangements.
He was most recently the head of The Walt Disney Company’s International Labor Standards (“ILS”) Program, where he provided leadership for developing, implementing and enforcing Disney’s strategies and requirements for the ethical production of branded consumer products for the Company’s global vertical retail and licensing businesses. With more than 30,000 facilities in over 90 countries, Disney’s ILS Program is among the largest and most complex ethical sourcing operations in the world.
Michael previously served as VP, Business Development in Disney’s Corporate Alliances group, where he developed Disney’s most successful global sponsorship and marketing joint ventures with companies such as American Express, Nestle, GM, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.
Prior to his career at Disney, Michael was SVP at Simon Marketing, a global consumer products, marketing services and manufacturing company serving McDonald’s and other global clients, where he oversaw manufacturing operations in Asia and the implementation of McDonald’s Code of Conduct. He was also a principal of Cabana Group, a boutique sponsorship consultancy where he worked extensively with MasterCard on entertainment marketing and licensing initiatives. Michael is based in Southern California, USA.
Membership:
ICTI Ethical Toy Program (IETP), Governing Board member
(IETP is the ethical supply chain program for the global toy and entertainment industry. The Program brings manufacturers, brands, retailers and civil society partners together to monitor, manage and fix social sustainability issues predominantly in the toy industry supply chain and to support the well-being of factory workers.)