Am I blushing?
Michael is a rare breed of creative director that is as talented a designer/doer as he is a concepter/presenter/judge of great creative. He is passionate about doing great work and he never stops pushing himself or his team to go further. I've worked with Michael at BVK for almost 6 years and he always delivers, smart, fresh, creative thinking that exceeds his client's expectations. But more importantly, Michael is a great person who always has your back and is just as passionate about using his talents to help others. As a volunteer on several Serve campaigns, Michael puts just as much care into his cause work as he does his day job. Even when it means working nights and weekends to get things done. On the downside, sometimes he lets his beard get a little out of hand, but it never seems to affect his thinking or his attitude. MV is one of Milwaukee's top creative directors and I'm lucky to have had the chance to work with him.
Gary Mueller | Managing Partner/Executive Creative Director | BVK
This guy is a work horse. Upon reading this, Michael would likely argue he's a Clydesdale. I say he's more like a Belgian. For nearly five years we both teamed-up on a handful of Fortune 500 accounts, and did some amazing work together. (We have the shiny hardware to prove it.) Michael understands what great work looks like and how it can move the needle, but equally as essential, he understands how it needs to connect to a sound strategy. While all those points are important, he also brings an intangible asset to the table every single day: that is, he's funny as hell. And that's worth a lot.
Dave Hanneken | Partner/Executive Creative Director | Hoffman York
Michael and I partnered for 7 years at BVK, working on travel, healthcare and a handful of pro bono clients. He is a classic Idea Guy, always grounded in the concept first, with art direction in the service of the idea. His design sense is tasteful and purposeful, stripping away things that aren’t necessary to make the work inviting and easy to process. On top of all that, he’s low on ego and high on professionalism. He can lead or he can be a team player. He just gets the job done.
Mike Holicek | Creative Director/Copywriter | BVK
I’ve had the opportunity to work with Michael for almost three years. He has a great mind and eye for design, inspires both veteran and rookie creatives and has a great sense of humor. But what I like most about him is the level of trust he provides day in and day out. I never have to worry when he is on one of my projects. When he’s on it, he’s got it.
Matt Herrmann | Group Creative Director | BVK
I worked closely with Michael on some of my most important clients. His contribution was central to their success. Their success was significant and has resulted in long term and committed client relationships.
Michael brings more than the requisite abilities in the areas of creative ideation, execution and aesthetics, which are obvious in reviewing his portfolio.
What may not be as evident is his ability to work with the entire agency team to create and sustain integrated approaches that take breakthrough creative ideas and brings them to life across the full spectrum of executions. Or his interpersonal style and skills which allows him to hear, process and appropriately incorporate client input in a way that still preserves the brand and essential creative vision, while also enhancing the client relationship. That is a rare quality
Not only does he manage the creative development process and client interactions with vision and sensitivity, he also contributes to the overall character and culture of the agency because he is a kind, considerate, thoughtful, hard working person.
Joel English | Managing Partner | BVK
I am a HUGE Michael fan. Working with him for the last 3 years at BVK, I had the pleasure of building an inspiring and truly beautiful healthcare campaign for a national cancer center. He was the originator behind the brand’s rebirth and ultimately a main author of its incredible success. Michael pours his heart and soul into the work and has the ability to put himself in any one’s shoes and truly channel the insight driving the creative solution. Michael holds the work to an incredibly high standard and pushed me to be better at my job day in and day out, as well as the rest of the team.
Meghan Massey | Account Director | BVK