Sir Michael is the founder, Group Executive Chairman and Senior Investment Officer of CQS, a London-based credit- focused multi-strategy asset management firm. He is also a Senior Portfolio Manager.

Prior to establishing CQS in 1999, Michael held a number of senior roles at CSFB and Goldman Sachs. He began his career in finance in 1982 with Salomon Brothers, New York, after working as an Electrical Design Engineer in Australia, where he had also served as a Captain in the Australian army.

He presently serves as a Member of the Board of Superintendence of IOR (known as the Vatican Bank) and sits on the Audit Committee of the Duchy of Cornwall. In the charitable sector, The Hintze Family Charitable Foundation has provided funding to over 200 charities. He is a Trustee of the Institute of Economic Affairs, is Senior Vice Patron of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, Special Friend of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Honorary Captain RNR, a Patron of the Arts of the Vatican Museums and is a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. Through MH Premium Farms, Michael has significant investments in the agricultural sector.

Michael is a fluent Russian speaker. He holds a BSc in Physics and Pure Mathematics and a BEng in Electrical Engineering both from the University of Sydney. He also holds an MSc in Acoustics from the University of New South Wales, an MBA from Harvard Business School, received a DBA (honoris) from the University of New South Wales and a DEng (honoris causa) from the University of Sydney.