Michael Jacobs

Board Member

Michael Jacobs has been a business executive, government official, academic and author. After working for a couple national investment banking firms, Michael founded and ran Jacobs Capital, which became the leading merger and acquisition advisory firm in the Triangle before his retirement.  Years ago, Michael took a leave from the M&A world and served as director of corporate finance and corporate governance policy at the U.S. Treasury Department under President George H. W. Bush. His public service also included stints as Chairman of the NC Coal Ash Management Commission and serving on the board of the NC Pension Fund as the representative of the UNC System. 

Professor Jacobs was a part-time faculty member at Kenan Flagler Business School for 13 years where he created and taught two MBA courses: Corporate Governance and Business and Government; and the undergraduate course Business, Politics and Public Policy.  Michael’s first book, Short-Term America (Harvard Business School Press), was named one of the top 10 business books of the year.  He later published a second book, Break the Wall Street Rule, and a featured article in the Harvard Business Review on how to correctly measure the cost of capital. He has published extensively on public policy issues. 

Michael has served on many corporate boards including the Oleander Company and Biscuitville, and non-profit boards including Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, the Carolina Ballet and Harvard Business School Club of Atlanta, where he was President.

Michael and his wife Donna met on a ski lift while attending a Northpoint Community Church leadership retreat in Colorado.  They now live in Banner Elk and Wilmington and have two sons who graduated from UNC, a daughter currently at UNC who is active in Summit College, and a grandson who will be applying to UNC in 15 years.