When I met Michele, I was directing and producing a major motion picture for MGM called Meteor Man. She had been hired to work in the Production Management department of the feature when she first got there. Immediately, her good nature/character and clarity under pressure stood out to me. So a couple weeks into pre-production, I hired her away from that department and made her my sole assistant on what was about to be a project with a million moving parts. Here's what I admired about Michele then and still see in her now: She means business. This is not a woman whose easy kindness and warmth can be mistaken for weakness. She was a boss…even when I was her boss :). I benefited from her focused approach and trusted her natural instincts. She still has them. She earned my respect back then and has maintained it to this day. I consider her a friend and also a trusted professional colleague. As for her current success, it was always going to happen. Was always just a matter of time.