Alumni

Treading from Lake Forest to CFO and Back: James M. Micali ’69

By Patty Dowd Schmitz

When James M. Micali graduated from Lake Forest College in 1969, he had no idea that the French class he had almost failed would be so important to him dozens of years later during his distinguished career at Michelin North America, which is owned by the French-based global tire company, The Michelin Group.

“I thought I’d never need French again,” says Micali, who has served as head of North American operations of the world’s largest tire maker since 1996. “But during my career at Michelin, I’ve ended up living in France for various periods of time. At Lake Forest, I absorbed many things about European history that I have called upon, and that French class ended up being very important down the road. Some of my French corporate counterparts have noted that I seem to understand something of their culture, history, and language. It’s a darned good thing I had a liberal arts education.”

Micali grew up in Boston and attended Lake Forest College because he wanted to live in another part of the country. “I enjoyed the campus and the environment very much,” he says. “I got a great liberal arts education and got all the attention I deserved and needed. And I made some good friends.”

A history major, Micali made the dean’s list several times and was a member and president of Delta Sigma Chi fraternity. He was also co-captain of the school’s golf team and a member of the basketball team. He joined the basketball team in an attempt to escape Coach Michael E. Dau’s ’58 mandatory freshman physical education class, which was rumored to be extremely tough. “But then the first day I showed up to basketball practice, and there’s Mike Dau with a whistle dangling from his neck!” he laughs.

Micali credits history professor Carol Gayle with teaching him the value of scholarship and of good, fact-based research. Under her one-on-one guidance, he completed a senior thesis entitled “The Demise of Polish Constitutional Democracy,” which received special honors. “She whipped me into shape,” Micali says. “The education I got at the College—the work ethic, the writing, the literature, and the attention to detail and fact-based analysis—really gave me a great foundation as I went on with my life and career.”

Micali attended law school after graduation and worked at a Providence, Rhode Island–based law firm for four years before joining Michelin in 1977 as a member of the legal department. “Someone discovered that I could count,” he says, and he ended up as the company’s CFO in 1992. The rest, he says, is history.

A resident of Greenville, South Carolina, where Michelin North America is based, Micali lives with his wife of 30 years, Lisa. They have two children, Christopher, 24, a graduate of Tufts University who works as a computer software engineer in Boston; and Peter, 19, a sophomore at Northwestern University. Both Jim and Lisa are active in their community.

Micali participates on a number of corporate boards and is associated with the Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics, and Public Leadership at Furman University in South Carolina, where he is a distinguished senior fellow and guest lecturer. He has also lectured at Clemson University and has come back to Lake Forest College several times to give class talks. In 1996 he was a co-presenter of the Ruth Winter Community Lecture titled “Doing Business in Eastern Europe: How Does It Work?”

“Lake Forest College offers a variety of choices as to what to study, what to do, and how to spend your time,” he says. “I always tell students to feel free to do whatever you want, but make sure you get your money’s worth. As with anything, you’ll get out of it what you put into it. Lake Forest provides an environment where you can get an excellent, well-rounded education with a lot of personal attention if you are willing to put in the time.

“And whatever you do, make sure you do it well,” he continues. “I never thought my French class would be very important to me down the road, but it certainly was.” 

Patty Dowd Schmitz is a freelance writer based in Barrington, Illinois.