Working with Michael was a delight: We were the same age but where I was impetuous and overtly commercial he was calm and measured, urbane and politic, but equally passionate about the practitioner led approach to business education supported by relevant research which made for a joyful partnership cut short all too soon. His two favourite observations were that his PhD on madness in Victorian society made him eminently qualified to understand academia and that teaching and case writing for Entrepreneurship allowed him to avoid the treadmill of writing articles for the journals of the obscure! His legacy of the Entrepreneurship ecosystem at LBS including Sussex Place Ventures, the Enterprise 100 and of course the wonderful portfolio of Entrepreneurship electives and the companies they have spawned will provide a rich mine of case studies and role models in the future that will be a fine testament to Michaels vision and energy.

My work as PA for Michael during the time he was Deputy Dean (2001-2006) was one of the highlights of my time at LBS. He thoroughly deserved the warmth and respect given to him by the students and colleagues with whom he worked and he especially made time for all those who sought his advice. Entrepreneurship was in Michael’s blood and he inspired students the world over with his thoughts and ideas. Michael appeared to his audiences to be a supremely relaxed public speaker but he worked very hard to perfect the deliverance of his lectures and speeches in this way. His family was hugely important to him and he was very proud of Amanda’s literary achievements and the progressing academic careers of Daisy and Marianna. John and I were delighted to share in some of the Hay family celebrations and we are very saddened by his passing.

I have very fond memories of Michael from 2005 when he was Deputy Dean. He was extremely approachable and used to visit our office quite a bit in person with any questions he may have had. I particularly enjoyed his mischievous streak post his role as Deputy Dean as he would appear in the corridor, dropping by on people to try and extract information that he knew was going to be released shortly ahead of everyone else. He was a very lovely, kind man who will be greatly missed by all.