Join us for our weekly “Rock Reflections,” a series celebrating Trinity alumni. From all 50 states to countries worldwide, our graduates are making an impact, and we'll share their stories on Trinity's website and social media.
This week's profile is about Michael Buckman '65
According to his entry in the 1965 “Shamrock” yearbook, Michael Buckman liked “art, hunting and girls.” He stated that he, “Received a good education, developed a number of lasting relationships and had plenty of fun at Trinity.”
Early on, Michael was raised in Louisville’s South End where he attended the former St. John Vianney Catholic School. He finished grade school at Our Lady of Lourdes after his family moved to St. Matthews while he was in third grade.
After graduating from Lourdes, intending to attend seminary, Michael joined the Verona Fathers, a Catholic missionary group based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“I was there for one and a half weeks and then decided I’d made a huge error,” Michael said. “It was a lot of effort to get into seminary. This was a big deal and decision for a 12-year-old boy. I went home and thought I could regroup and make a final decision later if that’s where my heart led me.”
Michael’s brother, Jim (Class of 1962), was attending Trinity at the time.
“Trinity was very convenient, and I was very Catholic,” Michael said. “I also wanted to follow in my brother’s footsteps.”
At Trinity, Michael was a member of the Pep Club and band. Additionally, he was on the swimming team for three years.
Michael remembers there were many requirements to being a Trinity student, with discipline, focus and effort in the forefront. A challenge, but life is full of them.
“It was intense, relative to school,” Michael said. “We wanted to perform well. Plus, I enjoyed school and my classmates socially, and that’s kept me involved and engaged with them later in life. I remember the things we did together being very rewarding and innocently fun.”
Among Michael’s favorite teachers were Rev. Joe Fowler and then-Rev. John Grenough H’11, who also served as head swimming coach. Another influential instructor was biology teacher Rev. Tom Allen.
“Father Allen did a great job,” Michael said. “I enjoyed that class, and it helped steer me toward things in my career later.”
Michael also was active outside of school. He was president of the Sigma Literary Society, a social club, which put on events such as teen dances and published an annual magazine. Michael said this organizational and leadership experience helped build a foundation he would later use in his professional life.
A successful career
Upon graduating from Trinity, Michael attended the University of Kentucky for two years. During this period, he met the mother of his future children and was married. He worked as a writer and photographer for the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper for a short time while his wife finished her education at UK.
Following that, he began his corporate career in an accelerated management training program with Household International, which later became HSBC. Michael quickly worked his way up from branch manager to district manager to division manager. Along the way, he had full P&L responsibility for operations, moved multiple times for increased responsibility, opened the first credit card center for MasterCard for HSBC in California and managed the U.S. operations human resources function while interfacing with the United Kingdom and Australia.
He relocated all over the United States. First to Paducah, Kentucky, then Atlanta, Georgia; to Jacksonville, Florida; to Dallas, Texas; back to Atlanta; and to Chicago in 1982 as a division leader. Michael’s role was to craft human capital plans and severance packages for employees as well as assist in divesting Household International of a broad cross section of companies in the retail sector. Along the way, Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in business at Columbus University in Metairie, Louisiana, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He spent 20 years with HSBC, but the last couple of years there burned him out. He resigned to consider his future career path.
“I spent four months in Chicago focusing on, ‘how do you find career and life balance with a focus on what you are good at and passionate about?’ and wondering what I really what wanted to do,” Michael said. “I didn’t have the answer.”
At about the same time, Michael was a parishioner at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. He became friends with a board member who owned The Derson Group, a small career management firm. He asked Michael to work for him and help his company grow. Michael decided to try, and it was the beginning of a lifelong example of following your talent and passion.
The Derson Group grew exponentially over nine years from five domestic company offices to a network of global offices.
“I loved to travel and build business plans and strategy,” Michael said. “More than that, my Catholic family and Trinity background taught me how to care about people and help them be successful. There’s camaraderie in life you can share.”
After nine years, he decided to join the global leader of the human capital industry, Lee Hect Harrison, where he had several roles. He started as a P&L manager, developing practices on a global basis to assist C-suite executives’ transition from their company if they were pulled away for some reason. Additionally, executive coaching was becoming popular, and Michael helped create leadership development programs around the world.
The company told Michael after seven years that they wanted him to take on more of a global sales role.
“I told them I couldn’t do it,” Michael said. “It would destroy what I’m about, which is to do what you love and do best. If you do, you’re not working.”
A Chicago friend of Michael’s asked him to join their firm headquartered in Paris, France, with U.S. operations. He wanted Michael to build practices like he had done in the past. Michael believed to do it and do it right, they needed to be on a global scale. Michael installed practices in Europe, Latin America and South America and assisted with the Far East. He told his friend he would work for him for six months; it ended up being six years.
In 2013, Michael left BPI Group and founded OTM Associates LLC. He serves as president and CEO. The company works at the highest levels of organization, assisting executives as an advisor and coach. OTM assists global leaders in answering the question “what's next?” as well as guiding them through complex business and behavioral issues.
“I decided to do on my own again what I really wanted to do,” Michael said. “I narrowed it down to one or two companies to work with.”
Trinity roots
Michael also serves as a mentor for the Menttium organization in Illinois. He works with high school and college students, asking them what they really want to do.
“If you’re passionate about something, it will happen,” Michael said. “Trinity reinforced my Catholic religious background, but it also established what life was about. My teachers established in me a good work ethic. I learned what it means to work hard to attain what you want in life and what you wanted to do with your education.”
Michael has been involved with the Alumni Association as a Class Agent. In 2020, despite living in Illinois, Michael participated in the Alumni Phonathon as a remote caller. The COVID-19 pandemic was raging, and in-person events on campus were not possible. In response, the Trinity Foundation team conducted the Phonathon virtually. Alumni were provided with class contact info so that they could make phone calls from home. Michael answered the call to volunteer and was one of nine alumni representing different states.
Each calling night, Michael called classmates to ask them to support the Trinity Annual Fund for financial aid. Over 43% of students receive financial aid, and it’s critical to many families. The Class of 1965 has great Annual Fund participation. Michael has participated in every Alumni Phonathon since 2020.
He also is an Annual Fund donor.
“I contribute financially because I believe in what Trinity stands for, which is a solid educational foundation, Catholic and overall human values,” he said.
Michael says his classmates are still fun to be with. They gather monthly for lunch at a local restaurant. Michael travels to Louisville several times per year to attend. During the pandemic, with Michael’s direction and the help of Zoom, the class continued their monthly meals unabated.
Michael and his wife, Kay, live in Galena, Illinois. Between them, they have four very successful children and nine happy grandchildren. Michael and Kay are parishioners at St. Michael Catholic Church in Galena.
Share an alumni story!
Do you know a Trinity alumnus with a compelling story? Please reach out to Travis Wagoner '90, Alumni Relations & Communications Director, at 502-736-2122 or wagoner@trinityrocks.com.
A History of Greatness
Since 1953, Trinity has benefitted from great teachers, resources, and activities to shape and guide promising boys into great men. The 106 students from our first graduating class have been followed by a legacy of academic, personal and cultural achievement. To learn more about our proud heritage, visit https://www.trinityrocks.com/o/trinityfoundation/page/about-us.
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