Michael Obi is president and CEO of Spectrum Global Solutions, a company he founded in 2003. Spectrum Global Solutions helps small and mid-sized businesses succeed by improving performance or taking a startup idea from planning to implementation. Spectrum also provides international trade assistance by serving as an intermediary in manufacturing and distribution of targeted products around the world.
For new and growing businesses, Michael is the ideal mentor. He has experience in all aspects of business and international trade, and also is a talented, personable coach who gets things done.
Michael’s financial acumen goes beyond holding accounting and M.B.A. degrees. He has worked in the financial industry for over 17 years, including nine years in high-level managerial positions with KeyBank covering retail, small business and corporate banking. At KeyBank, he developed new plans to accelerate growth and manage expenses, resulting in over $15 million in net revenue to KeyCorp.
Michael has a proven track record in sales and performance management; he understands the science behind sales and knows how to leverage the personal factor. At KeyBank, Michael managed the group in charge of designing sales campaigns. He was instrumental in developing a sales process that allowed the bank to grow sustainable clients those that open an account and then expand into other KeyBank products. This resulted in deposits at a record level for KeyBank. Because of his efforts, KeyBank awarded Michael the Chairman’s Award, the highest honor given to KeyBank employees. Michael's other impressive metrics at KeyBank include a 60% reduction of sales time and 150% improvement on sales closure rate from 2002 to 2003.
Since he was 17 years old, Michael has been involved in international trade with companies in Africa, Europe and Asia. At Spectrum Global Solutions, he established worldwide distribution and manufacturing alliances to reduce operating costs by 30%.
As a coach, Michael transformed the corporate culture at KeyBank with his focus on emotional intelligence. Today, he leads business startup and international trade workshops for organizations as diverse as Oberlin College and the Urban League of Greater Cleveland. Michael also shares his leadership with the community by serving on the board of nonprofits including Opera Cleveland and the National Charitable Fund.
In business, Michael is a doer. He helped establish the State of Ohio Small Business Development Center in less than six months – a record time. The development center has become a model now replicated across the country. He is also on the panel of the Cleveland Foundation’s Civic Innovation Lab, an organization dedicated to promoting innovative civic and economic ventures in Northeast Ohio.
Michael earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and M.B.A. degree from the University of North Florida’s Coggin School of Business. He is a graduate of KeyCorp’s Leadership Experience at Case Western Reserve University.
Okey had worked for many multi-national fortune 500 companies in the US including Eaton Corporation, Texas Instruments, and Cadbury Schweppes. He has worked for technology business consulting organizations like BearingPoint Inc and SAP America, where he assisted these companies in realizing the benefits of their IT investments by providing efficient use of technology in their business practices. While with SAP America he consulted for several companies such as the Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Interior, Coca-Cola Enterprises, and Deloitte Consulting in setting up their IT infrastructure, running and supporting their business applications.
Okey serves in the executive board of Cietra (since August 2003).
Okey holds a Masters degree in Accounting and Financial Information Systems from Cleveland State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA).
Innocent Obi, CPA, MBA, JD Chief Legal Counsel