Michael is currently a venture partner with Connecticut Innovations and a Managing Director of Nexam Capital. He has a 25 year career in private equity, investment banking and operations, during which he was actively involved in about 40 companies worldwide, and associated with over $5 billion of deal value. He has been an investment committee member of six funds, and served actively on numerous boards. From 1999-2009, Michael was president of ETF Group, a Swiss-based global venture capital group, and Nexam Capital, with investments in 10 U.S. portfolio companies, including Commerce One, Hotspot FX and Portero (where he served as CEO). From 1992-1999, Michael was Managing Director and founder of the international private equity business for Trust Company of the West, where he built joint venture offices in India, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. From 1987-1992, Michael was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and First Boston, during which time he led several significant telecommunications and natural resources transactions, including TelMex, and SQM. Michael grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, and is also fluent in Spanish. Michael holds a B.S. degree in Engineering from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth.