When Mike McGuire was 10 years old, his family moved to a small town in northwest Ohio where they owned and operated a family-owned grocery store. It was in that store, working under the watchful eye of his parents, where work ethic and small town values were instilled. Mike says that everything he needed to know in life was learned there. He learned compassion from observing his parents in their day-to-day dealings with customers, some of whom had fallen on hard times, providing free groceries and forgiving amounts owed. He also learned the importance of giving back to the community, which he has carried on through his life.

After graduating from Bowling Green State University, Mike began his career in Charlotte. He was serving as the Carolinas’ audit division head when the firm collapsed in 2002, leaving 250 employees in the Carolinas unemployed. Mike, along with his partners, led the Carolinas team to Grant Thornton, a global six accounting firm, where all employees were hired to build a Grant Thornton presence in the Carolinas. Today, seven years later, Grant Thornton is one of the largest accounting firms in the Carolinas, and the Carolinas practice is one of the top performing practices in the firm. Mike is currently the Carolinas’ managing partner for Grant Thornton, and was elected to serve on the firm’s Partnership Board in 2008.
Mike continues his active community involvement and was selected for Bowling Green State University’s Accomplished Graduate Award for the College of Business Administration in 2004, as well as the university’s 2007 Alumni Community Award. He serves on numerous boards, including the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the Bowling Green State University Foundation Board, The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, and Charlotte City Club. He was recently named as one of “The 50 Most Powerful People in Town” by Charlotte Magazine, which said, “McGuire is ambitious and talented, and he is well networked through serving in leadership positions on a number of different boards. He is high on the list of people you want on your side if you’re trying to get something big done.”

Mike and his wife Melissa live in Charlotte, where Melissa is a founder and director for Sherpa, LLC, a financial recruiting firm that she formed in 2001.