Michael Burwell has advice for the majority of millennials who are burdened by the many types of debt that is having significant impact on all of their lives’ fronts.
Burwell possesses over three decades of experience in the finance sector. He is considered to be among the top as well as most influential authority within the finance sector due to his professionalism, expertise and outstanding performance. Burwell has consulted about projects for both large and small private national companies, he has consulted on business models and projections of various private equity funds and lead teams analyzing individual product profitability and product/process enhancements across several industries. In other words, Burwell has distinguished himself through both his professionalism as well as outstanding performance within his field. He has guided management of global as well as regional finance departments as well as consulted several local and international enterprises when it comes to finance. Most notably, what sets Burwell apart from the rest of his colleagues in the finance industry are several of his qualities. His leadership style, for example, focuses on nurturing talents rather than upholding strict rules. This is evident in Burwell’s continuous efforts to inspire his teams to continuously strive to become more innovative. This he achieves by mentoring and inspiring his teams to always think outside the box and beyond the instructions as they seek more effective and durable solutions to complicated problems. Burwell hopes that he will serve as an example for other leaders and entrepreneurs so that they implement the same practices in their leadership roles.
Another notable quality of the Detroit-based certified public accountant is that he is self-inspired. When asked about where he gets his inspiration from, Burwell suggests to look in the mirror. Rather than seeking motivation as well as inspiration from those around them, leaders ought to try and become that themselves.
Michael Burwell is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Willis Towers Watson, where his focus is on advising global insurance services provides on all things finance. This is considered particularly appropriate for this role due to Burwell’s expertise in realms such as business valuations that is crucial for the insurance process.
Given his expansive background and expertise as well as his drive to inspire others to be better versions of themselves, it comes as no surprise that Burwell offers financial advice for millennials who are financially burdened by debt that not only affects all aspects of their lives but slows them down in terms of life’s major milestones. The majority of US-based millennials have some form of debt, and only a small fraction are completely debt free.
Burwell believes that effective financial training begins in the college classroom, where students can be taught both sound investment as well as overall financial habits and practices. He believes that exposing students early on to real world experiences can help them make better and more sound choices later in life. This will help them advance all other areas in life that are otherwise burdened and slowed down by financial strains.
In fact, undergraduate business students at Detroit-based Wayne State University will have the chance to do just that. The University was donated $2 million in funding by the Kresge Foundation that focuses on advancing arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development efforts across America’s major cities. The money that was donated to Wayne State will be put toward the university’s portfolio management class so that the students can get their ‘hands dirty’ and as such become better prepared for life and career after graduating. As part of the setup, students in the class choose and monitor performance of a stock portfolio. They are asked to make decisions regarding purchasing, selling as well as holding and make recommendations to Kresge while all stock transaction activity will be overseen by a member of the foundation’s investment team. Robert Forsythe, dean of the Mike Ilitch School of Business, states that, “The challenging curriculum will combine the very best blend of investment and portfolio management theory with the experience of working as a member of an investment team.”
While the advice that Michael Burwell would give to his younger self is quite different – to not always look to agree with and make everyone happy – he believes that millennials could best benefit from real-life financial training in the college classroom that would set them up for financial success later on in life. This includes fewer millennials having a smaller amount of debt, which in turn means more money as well as energy that is geared toward other milestones in their lives such as home-buying or investing, to name a few.
Burwell has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Michigan State University and is a certified public accountant. He was named Michigan State University’s Alumnus of the year in 2010.
