Michael G. Messner was a Co-Founder of Seminole Management Co, Inc., an equity hedge fund, and was Chief Investment Officer from 1995 through 2018. Through their family’s Speedwell Foundation, he and his wife, Jenny, have been involved in various philanthropic efforts nationwide and in local markets focused on urban parks and education. During the financial crisis, Mike and Jenny Messner funded research at Georgia Tech, called Redfields to Greenfields. Redfields to Greenfields was a research effort analyzing the effects of acquiring financially distressed properties (real estate “in the red”) in major U.S. cities and converting them into green space. As a supporting effort to Redfields to Greenfields, Mike produced a documentary on Frederick Law Olmsted, “Olmsted and America’s Urban Parks”, shown on PBS nationally (www.olmstedfilm.org ).
While living in Charleston, SC, Mike helped promote parks and greenspace. Mike led the acquisition of 140 acres of distressed real estate which is being repurposed into two new parks for the Charleston region. Mike also led the negotiation and acquisition of 2.0 miles (10 acres) of Norfolk Southern right-of-way in Charleston which will be repurposed for a linear park.Mike and Jenny have been involved in education efforts including helping start two Charleston charter schools. In Atlanta, they have been supporting Cristo Rey Atlanta High School and Ga Tech with scholarships. They have also supported AFS and US Naval Academy study abroad programs.
Following a successful career on Wall Street, Mike returned to his hometown of Atlanta and is teaching at Ga Tech. His courses included Equity Investing in Scheller College of Business and Infrastructure Finance in Civil Engineering. Mike has been on the board of the GA Tech Foundation, MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering Visiting Committee, Ga Tech Civil Engineering Advisory Board. He is currently on the board of City Parks Alliance Board and the Drexel Fund.Mr. Messner received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975 and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1976. He attended graduate school at M.I.T. and received an M.S. in 1980. Mr. Messner is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
