Michael E. O'Neal, PhD, an anthropologist and former college president, currently serves as Senior Research Fellow at Island Resources Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based organization whose central mission is to assist small islands to meet the challenges of social, economic and institutional growth while protecting and enhancing their environments. He is also a director of JOMA Properties Ltd, a family-owned real estate management and development company in the British Virgin Islands.
Dr O'Neal brings to the arena of family business advising a background as a both a family business member and as an academic with a particular interest in the ethnography of family enterprise, particularly regarding the Caribbean. He is currently serving as a member of a research team studying “best practices” of a group of international multigenerational business families.
Earlier in his career, Dr O'Neal had been involved in spearheading the establishment of the BVI’s Financial Services Institute, an accredited tuition provider for courses of ICSA, ICA, ILEX and STEP, addressing the human resource development needs of the financial services sector in the BVI. As an anthropologist, He is especially interested in family stories and in the multidisciplinary, collaborative use of retreats as a medium for addressing governance and legacy issues.
Prior to his academic career, Dr. O’Neal was a managing director of the business enterprises of J.R. O’Neal Ltd (BVI). He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Public Service Commission, the Development Bank of the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean Philanthropy Network, the Foundation for Development Planning, and as Chairman of the BVI National Parks Trust.
A published author, Dr. O’Neal’s primary area of academic research is concerned with the political economy of development. His other research interests include medical anthropology and family business studies. He is a Fellow of the Family Firm Institute and holds its advanced professional designation in family business advising (ACFBA). He is also a member of the Minnesota-based Galliard Family Business Advisor Institute and its network of family business advisors.
Dr. O’Neal is a member of several professional associations and learned societies, and is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (U.K.) and of the American Anthropological Association.
Dr O'Neal brings to the arena of family business advising a background as a both a family business member and as an academic with a particular interest in the ethnography of family enterprise, particularly regarding the Caribbean. He is currently serving as a member of a research team studying “best practices” of a group of international multigenerational business families.
Earlier in his career, Dr O'Neal had been involved in spearheading the establishment of the BVI’s Financial Services Institute, an accredited tuition provider for courses of ICSA, ICA, ILEX and STEP, addressing the human resource development needs of the financial services sector in the BVI. As an anthropologist, He is especially interested in family stories and in the multidisciplinary, collaborative use of retreats as a medium for addressing governance and legacy issues.
Prior to his academic career, Dr. O’Neal was a managing director of the business enterprises of J.R. O’Neal Ltd (BVI). He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Public Service Commission, the Development Bank of the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean Philanthropy Network, the Foundation for Development Planning, and as Chairman of the BVI National Parks Trust.
A published author, Dr. O’Neal’s primary area of academic research is concerned with the political economy of development. His other research interests include medical anthropology and family business studies. He is a Fellow of the Family Firm Institute and holds its advanced professional designation in family business advising (ACFBA). He is also a member of the Minnesota-based Galliard Family Business Advisor Institute and its network of family business advisors.
Dr. O’Neal is a member of several professional associations and learned societies, and is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (U.K.) and of the American Anthropological Association.