
Michael Neal
Ex-Deloitte | Break Into Data, Analytics & AI Roles

Chicago Booth

Centerview Partners
Successful clients at




8.9k
Expert mins
140
Followers
Available Saturday
Starting at 5:00 PM UTC
Questions?
You can start chatting with Michael before you get started.
Customer favorite
In the top 10% of AI for Data & Analytics experts on Leland
I started in civil engineering, spent four years at Deloitte on cloud strategy, went to UChicago for an MBA and a master's in computer science, and recruited into investment banking. Along the way I worked on technology for the Olympic Games and built my own company, a prep platform for banking candidates that I still run. None of those moves were obvious from the outside. Each one took the same work: figuring out what the bar actually was, then getting specific about how to clear it. That is what I do with clients. I coach investment banking recruiting, and breaking into tech and AI. If you are switching tracks, I have made that switch more than once.
Michael also coaches for Investment Banking, AI for Product Development, AI Services, AI for Finance, Build with AI, and Break Into AI Careers. View all.
Work with Michael
Michael’s AI for Data & Analytics Qualifications
Experience level: Executive
Michael has helped clients get into these companies:
I help people understand, build, and use AI in practical ways. Whether you’re building an AI product, improving your workflow, exploring automation, preparing for AI/data roles, or figuring out how AI applies to your business, I can help you turn broad ideas into clear next steps. I’ve worked on technology across very different environments: the Olympic Games, startups, and AI implementations for real businesses. I’ve scoped projects, built tools, designed workflows, evaluated business cases, worked with technical infrastructure, and used AI hands-on across products, data, automation, LLMs, prompts, agents, and operations. My goal is to make AI feel less overwhelming and more useful. I’ll meet you where you are and help you move forward with more clarity, confidence, and practical judgment.
Michael can help with:
AI Automation
AI Fundamentals
AI Model Evaluation
Dashboard Creation
Data Cleaning & Prep
Data Pipeline Automation
Data Strategy
Data Visualization
Freelancing
Natural Language Querying
Predictive Analytics
Reporting & Insights
Why do I coach?
Most of the people I work with are not short on information. They have read the guides and watched the videos. What they are missing is someone who will tell them which parts apply to their situation and which parts to ignore. I had that person at a few points and it changed the outcome. That is the part I try to be.
Work Experience

Summer Associate
Centerview Partners
June 2025 - August 2025
Technology Group

Consultant
Deloitte
November 2020 - September 2024
Cloud Strategy / Tech coverage

Operations engineer
KATERRA
May 2019 - August 2019

Head Teaching Assistant
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
August 2018 - August 2020
Education

Chicago Booth
MBA & MS CS
2024 - 2026
Activities and societies: Investment Banking Group — Technical Lead; Quantum @ Booth — Founder

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BS + MS, Civil Engineering
2016 - 2020
5.0 average review
21 reviews
Overall rating
Michael has helped clients get into these companies:
Michael also coaches for Investment Banking, AI for Product Development, AI Services, AI for Finance, Build with AI, and Break Into AI Careers. View all.