Giving

Alumni Spotlight

Bauer College Alumnus Leads Tax Department for Lions Gate Entertainment

Intro & Interview by Julie Bonnin

Michael Hainkel is an Executive Vice President and Chief Tax Officer for Lions Gate Entertainment. He earned BBA and MS degrees in accounting from Bauer College in 1978 and 1979, respectively.

He worked for Ernst & Whinney, Geosource, Penn Central, KPMG, Federated Department Stores and Moorman Manufacturing Corporation after graduation before taking a role as a senior manager of mergers and acquisitions for Deloitte in Los Angeles in 1997.

He then worked for Ernst & Young’s National Office West in Los Angeles and has been at Lions Gate since 2005. Hainkel is also a proud University of Houston alumnus, generously funding merit scholarships specifically for accounting students. He and his wife Jill have hosted Highlight Houston alumni events in Los Angeles.

We recently chatted with Hainkel about his career and support for his alma mater.

Q: Can you talk about some of the reasons you have chosen to support Bauer College?

A: One day, I stopped to think about how fortunate I was and immediately thought about my education and the part that the College of Business played in my success (it was not called Bauer College then). The education I received was the foundation for my professional advancement. The relationships skills I was forced to develop during my undergraduate program taught me how to work effectively with people. Jill and I visited the campus and were amazed at how it has grown. We learned so much about how impressive Bauer’s programs are in the academic community. I reconnected with Dr. Jim Pratt and Dr. Betsy Gelb, which has been very enjoyable, even though they refuse to take responsibility for my success. Reconnecting with Bauer has been incredibly rewarding, in so many ways!

Q: What are some career highlights for you?

A: Receiving five “no-change” decisions for my clients from the IRS Appellate Division in my second year out of graduate school was particularly gratifying, especially since my colleagues were convinced the cases were losers. My professors were clearly responsible for these wins. I was appointed to the Federated Department Stores’ Bankruptcy team, and my team reduced a $1 billion IRS claim in bankruptcy to a refund. Other highlights were reducing a $70 million California Franchise Tax Board claim to a $2 million settlement offer and saving over $1 billion dollars for another company later in my career.

I am most fortunate to have been able to build a tax department at an incredibly dynamic company. The tax department at Lions Gate Entertainment is completely integrated with the business and involved in almost every decision made by Management and Operations. It is populated by some of the smartest professionals in their areas, who check their titles at the door and work together to solve issues.

Q: How did the business school prepare you for the years you worked in mergers and acquisitions?

A: The MS Accountancy program was the number three program in the country in the 1970s. We were well prepared for many of the issues we would encounter.

I fell into mergers and acquisitions quite by accident in 1982 when I filled in for a sick colleague and found myself on the corporate jet bound for Pampa, Texas, to buy a wireline company. We closed the deal. I was on the acquisition team. We bought 25 companies that year, and the rest is history. I was involved in so many deals over the next 15 years, prior to joining Deloitte’s National M&A practice. The experience gained from each deal led to the opportunity to work on the next one.

Q: Do you have any general advice for recent graduates of Bauer?

A: Always choose to do the right thing. Do your best on every assignment you receive. Worry about how you are going to solve the problems in front of you and almost nothing else. Assume that you will find the solution you need and then take the steps you need to find that solution. Build consensus with your colleagues and achieve your objectives as a team. It will be easier, and you will be far more effective.

Share the credit for your successes generously. Harry Truman maintained that there was no limit to what one can accomplish if one does not care who gets the credit. Assertively take responsibility for failures. People will respect you for it and will assign it to you anyway if you try to duck or misdirect it to someone else. Be bold. Have the courage to take positions and provide your reasons in support.

Remain calm in adversity. Your stress will distract your team from what they need to do to achieve your objective. Seek guidance from suitable mentors. Ask for the opportunity to work on interesting projects. Help people in need. It is important and will be the most rewarding work you do.

Q: Do you have a favorite Lions Gate movie?

A: The Hunger Games franchise would be my favorite from a technical perspective. They were difficult books to deliver to the screen, and their success made life in the office extremely interesting. I also loved La La Land, Wonder and Hacksaw Ridge.