| Prior to forming Crossover Entertainment Group in 2008 and creating Lawson Artist Management in 2006, Mike Lawson spent over 11 years in executive management and leadership positions at Houlihan Lokey, the most active mergers & acquisitions investment bank (ahead of Goldman Sachs), and Arthur Andersen LLP, once the world’s largest and most prestigious accounting and financial consulting firm.
While at Houlihan Lokey in its global headquarters in Los Angeles, Lawson was a part of the global leadership team and reported directly to one of the firm's three global division leaders. Lawson was responsible for all aspects of the division's management, strategic planning of more than 30 growth initiatives, business development, expansion, internal financial analyses and special projects. Lawson began his professional career at Arthur Andersen in its global headquarters in Chicago. After gaining five years of corporate financial consulting and mergers & acquisitions experience, Lawson spent two years as part of Andersen's Global Corporate Finance division's national leadership team, integrating six offices and 60 professionals into a unified team while also driving the strategic business development initiatives and internal crossing selling platforms for over 20 strategic growth initiatives.
Lawson earned a business degree in accounting from the top-ranked University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has completed MBA-level courses at University of Chicago. He has also completed over a dozen entertainment business courses at UCLA.
Mike Lawson was a formerly registered as a General Securities Principal (holding Series 7, 63 and 24 licenses) with the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) (now the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)). Lawson is a member of The Recording Academy (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), Hollywood Hill and the Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF).
Lawson is also a classically trained pianist who bravely endured 11 years of private lessons and also taught private piano lessons to 12 students.
Lawson's background in financial consulting and expertise in developing and implementing strategic marketing and branding strategies for clients enables him to effectively do business with other industry professionals while representing his client’s (the artist’s) best interests by being extremely involved, organized, focused and tenacious.
As an artist, Mike Lawson understands the creative process. As a successful businessman, Lawson understands the real world of business and helps his clients reach their desired goals and career objectives.
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