Michael is the founder and owner of The Palma Group, a leading recruiting and consulting firm specializing in the advertising industry. In its 35 years, the firm concentrates on three focus areas: executive search and headhunting, business development consulting and agency search. 

 The Palma Group has built long-term relationships with hundreds of agency clients and and thousands of top candidates, fostering successful partnerships that drive growth. With more than 1,500 placements since 1989, The Palma Group is perhaps most prolific headhunting firm in advertising history.

Prior to founding The Palma Group, Palma was an assistant basketball coach at Holy Cross. In college athletics, recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. As a High School All-American and as a prized college player himself, Michael was recruited by the likes of Rick Pitino, Dick Vitale, Jim Boeheim and Jim Valvano, to name just a few,

Michael discovered he had a gift for pitching, closing, and developing relationships. He eventually realized that these recruiting skills were transferrable to creative headhunting for ad agencies. Also, by recruiting professionals rather than student-athletes, he no longer had to deal with NCAA rules or sanctions.

His upcoming book, Walk with a Humble Swagger, is a collection of lessons he's learned over his career on how to recruit top talent and grow agencies, as well as useful tips and tactics for successful creatives in the ad industry. These lessons are drawn from his early days as a player and college coach, and include stories involving other titans of the game like John Thompson, Bobby Cremins, Frank McGuire and Dean Smith.

The book will be published in the late summer of 2024.