Expert Accounting, Finance & Governance Witness

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Michael Rodriguez is a seasoned executive and board member with a distinguished 35-year career in financial and operational leadership. He has a proven track record of successfully guiding early-stage businesses across various industries and brings extensive experience as a board director. With over two decades of experience in Chief Financial Officer roles, including ten years as CFO of three public companies, Mr. Rodriguez offers a wealth of expertise. In his C-level positions, he has raised over $400 million in private equity, venture capital, and public equity. Additionally, he has secured more than $80 million in bank debt and managed numerous buy-side and sell-side mergers and acquisitions, with a combined value exceeding $750 million. His strategic acumen is evident in his ability to lead companies through high-growth phases, turnarounds, and distressed situations. As a “Big-4” Certified Public Accountant, he is recognized as a financial expert under SEC, NYSE, and NASDAQ rules. Currently, Mr. Rodriguez serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Accounting at the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University, where he teaches undergraduate Managerial Accounting and graduate Business and Professional Ethics courses. He also holds several corporate board positions, including at North Coast Holdings, where he chairs the Joint Retirement Plans and Benefits Committee and serves on the Audit, Compensation, and Enterprise Risk Management Committees. Mr. Rodriguez holds a Directorship Certificate from the National Association of Corporate Directors, a Corporate Directorship Certificate from Harvard Business School, and certificates in Private Company Governance and ESOP Governance from the Private Directors Association. In addition to his professional roles, Mr. Rodriguez is a highly sought-after guest speaker and lecturer. He is also an active mentor to business owners, leaders, and young professionals. EXPERIENCE: BAYLOR UNIVERSITY – WACO, TX CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR | 2022-PRESENT Baylor University is a private Christian university and nationally ranked Research 1 institution. Mr. Rodriguez develops, plans, and instructs students in undergraduate managerial accounting and graduate-level business and professional ethics. He teaches four classes per semester, and was recognized as a Baylor Fellow in 2024-2025, which recognizes professors across the disciplinary spectrum who exemplify excellence in teaching. Baylor Fellows are committed to pedagogical innovation, inspirational teaching, and the cultivation of these characteristics among their fellow Baylor faculty. SOLIDEO ADVISORS, LLC – WACO, TX MANAGING DIRECTOR | 2013-PRESENT Founded and operated by Mr. Rodriguez. Provides strategic, operational, and financial advisory services to high-growth companies. Primary services center around but are not limited to: creating durable, resilient, and efficient financial infrastructure, business analysis, and reporting; enhancing organizational design and restructuring; improving general management effectiveness; and optimizing capital structure. MAGNOLIA BUSINESS VENTURES, LLC – WACO, TX CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER | 2018-2022 Magnolia is a family-owned global brand associated with the Fixer Upper television show franchise, with business operations in media, television production, retail (e-commerce and point-of-sale), food operations, publishing, licensing, realty brokerage, and real estate holdings with revenues of nearly $200 million and nearly 700 employees. Mr. Rodriguez provided primary financial and administrative leadership for all businesses, and general responsibilities included finance, information technology, legal, and project management, as well as the family office. He also served on the board of directors of the Magnolia Foundation. DECIPHER BIOSCIENCES – SAN DIEGO, CA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | 2017-2018 [See attached biography for complete professional qualifications and background]