Mike obtained his engineering degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and worked as a project engineer for Bausch & Lomb before venturing onto a new career path in 1993. He founded his own 3D animation company, which offered cutting-edge digital imagery and motion graphics to numerous clients such as Sony Playstation, EIDOS, Crystal Dynamics, Ray-Ban, Interplak, Post Central, and ESPN, among others.

In 1996, Mike faced the difficult choice to shut down his thriving animation company when he was offered a leadership role at PIXAR Animation Studios on pre-production for Toy Story 2. For 17 years, he had a dynamic and prominent career at PIXAR as a Technical Director and Digital Artist, playing a significant role in creating some of the studio's most beloved characters and their iconic worlds for theatrical releases and short films.

In 2007, the Visual Effects Society of Hollywood honored Mike with the prestigious VES Award for his outstanding artistic contributions.

Mike's influence extended beyond his role at PIXAR. As the Maquette Sculpture Lead, he played a key role in creating the first-ever 3D Toy Story Zoetrope, which toured various museums worldwide. Mike also taught at PIXAR University and shared his knowledge and expertise as a guest lecturer at RIT, Savannah Arts Academy, Texas A&M, Siggraph, The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark, and The One Academy in Malaysia.

In recognition of his achievements, Mike was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from The Rochester Institute of Technology in 2007.