Links: 

• LinkedIn

CEO, Senior Lead Advisor | Certified Kingdom Advisor

As CEO of Sovereign Financial, Mike is committed to leading his associates and clients along The Sovereign Way. Mike co-founded the firm in 2017 after working with Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor. His previous experience includes working as the administrator and stewardship pastor of a large church in South Carolina, where he handled the business functions of the church along with his pastoral duties. In addition, Mike is a pioneer and leader in Values Based Investing (VBI), which is an investment philosophy that focuses on investing according to your values and leads to human flourishing. He also worked as a vice president of Stewardship Partners Investment Counsel and as Regional Director of Broker Relations at the Timothy Plan mutual funds. Both firms specialized in VBI, also known as Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI), and helped Mike to develop the foundational principles for The Sovereign Way.

Mike studied at Central Michigan University, where he graduated cum laude with a B.S in Business Administration with a Finance major and a concentration in Investments. After continuing his education at Central Michigan in the MBA program, he went to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where he graduated with a Master of Divinity in biblical languages. Mike concurrently pursued the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation which he earned in 2006. Mike is also a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA®). In 2019, he became a Colson Fellow of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His educational pursuits have been focused on the theological and practical foundations of biblical stewardship which has led to founding of Sovereign Financial.

Mike is married to Hope, and they have 10 children (yes, 10!) and a pot-bellied pig named Kevin Bacon. They live on a small farm in South Carolina and are proud to call the Upstate their home. Mike also enjoys being one of the pastors of Greenville Community Church in downtown Greenville, SC. The church is a small family of faith that is focused on sharing the beauty and truth of the gospel with a lost and hurting world. In addition, Mike serves his community by serving on the boards of several local ministries and teaching Personal Financial Management as an adjunct professor to students at North Greenville University.

Links: 

• LinkedIn

• Stagecoach Ventures

• The Weekend Reader

• Modern Meditations: Reflections from the Mid-Point of the Second Decade of the Twenty-first Century

• The Lift Seminar

Managing Partner | Saturn Five

Bio:

Max is an entrepreneur and author. He is the founder of Stagecoach Ventures and author of the The Weekend Reader, a deep thinker’s guide to modern culture, and is the Author of Modern Meditations: Reflections from the Mid-Point of the Second Decade of the Twenty-first Century. Max is the founder and CEO of The Lift Seminar—a personal accelerator for entrepreneurs, and a platform for teaching MBAs at the world’s top business schools the secrets of massive personal productivity.

Max co-founded the MBA Oath upon graduating with honors from Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School in 2009. He co-authored a book of the same title, The MBA Oath (Penguin Portfolio) with Peter Escher in 2010.

Max has spoken at universities, companies, and not-for-profit organizations across the United States and Europe. His work has been profiled by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, NPR’s Weekend Edition, and dozens of other media outlets.

Max received an A.B. in History from Princeton University. He began his career at McKinsey & Co. in New York City, followed by work with leading organizations across the for-profit and non-profit world including Google, The Charlie Rose Show, Redeemer Presbyterian Church and, most recently, Bridgewater Associates — where he served in a number of leadership capacities as a member of the firm’s senior management cohort and as director of the firm’s Investment Associate leadership program.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR

Links: 

• LinkedIn

Founder and CEO | Garden City

Michael currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Garden City, a purpose-driven buyout holding company that has raised $40M of permanent capital to buy, grow, and forever-hold service companies across the Southeast. Once acquired, Garden City seeks to grow them through culture, technology and sales.

Most recently, Michael was an early employee at DocuSign where he served as Global Vice President, General Manager, and Chief of Staff to the CEO. DocuSign has now achieved a $40B market cap with 5,000 employees.

In 2016, he founded MAV Ventures, a venture capital group that has invested in over twenty companies ranging from technology to healthcare to consumer goods.

Michael co-founded New Story, a non-profit that has built 2,000+ homes in developing countries and recognized for creating the world’s first-ever 3D Home Printer. Year ago, he was recognized by Forbes as “30 under 30” for his social entrepreneurship work. He graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management, now lives in Atlanta and has a wife and two children.

Mike is a follower of Jesus and seeks to honor God in everything he does.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR

 Links:

• LinkedIn

Executive Director | The Chalmers Center

Bio:

Michael has a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Covenant Theological Seminary and is completing a Doctorate in Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Earlier in his career, Michael worked as a manager with Accenture for eight years, focusing on mergers and acquisitions in the financial services industry.

He then served as a vice-president with Bank of America, where he focused on process design in the Wealth Management division. After moving to the nonprofit world, he served for almost three years as a missionary in Spain with World Harvest Mission. Most recently, Michael worked as Executive Director of Third Millennium Ministries in Orlando, Florida.

Life:

Michael and his wife, Kathryn, have three children.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR

 Links:

• LinkedIn

Owner | Hayden Harper Holdings

Bio:

After graduating from Miami University, Mike moved to North Carolina to pursue a career in business. In 2002, after working for a couple of years in investments, he realized he didn’t want to be beholden to a corporation anymore. It was after this realization he made the decision to start Hayden Harper, a financial advisory firm.

Mike has run and grown Hayden Harper for the past 17 years, including a re-launch in 2007 after God gave him a renewed vision and purpose to impact and enrich lives for the glory of Christ through the work of Hayden Harper. In 2009,

Mike started an energy business and held the position of Founder/CFO until it was sold in 2014. Always an opportunist, he decided to re-start his family’s pipe distribution company in 2012, which he still oversees today. Since 2014, he has bought and sold various other businesses, always looking for a good investment, and a chance to improve processes and teams. Mike is a visionary, passionate about his work and cares about challenging the people around him to grow into their fullest potential and to live in the freedom that Christ offers.

Life:

Mike has been married to his wife, Kathleen, for 19 years. Together they have 4 children; 3 teenage boys + a 10 year old girl. Mike and Kathleen enjoy a busy life in Charlotte, NC with their active kids. They are grateful for the journey God has them on; running and building businesses with a kingdom mindset. In addition, they have a heart for hospitality and enjoy the chance to connect with friends near and far.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR

 Links:

• LinkedIn

Managing Director | TMG Capital

Bio:

Michael McNinch has a financial background that includes managing, advising, and investing in companies in the US, Europe, and Middle East.

He is currently a principal with a private investment firm that provides capital to small and middle market growth companies with proven business models in a broad range of industries. They seek to invest in companies that offer a compelling return on investment, limited downside risk, and management teams that share our values.

He has a desire to work with entrepreneurs in a spirit of partnership to create and enhance value.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR