Detroit's
Alumnus takes
beloved Thanksgiving
tradition to next level
When Tony Michaels stepped in as president
and CEO of The Parade Company he had
one goal … anything the group did had
to be great.
4
In nearly four years of leading Detroit's
most beloved tradition, the 1981 alum has
transformed the company, doubling the
revenue and adding two of the biggest
sponsors in the history of the parade.
"I figured if we're going to do this, let's make
it bigger, bolder and more impactful than
ever before," said Michaels.
Michaels' quest for greatness for the parade
started with recognizing the things they
did well and making everything better. The
first challenge was fixing up the warehouse,
located in an old Chrysler plant in Detroit
and making it more presentable.
"If you want people to believe in what
you're doing, you have to look and act the
part," said Michaels.
Giving the warehouse a facelift took two
years, calling in a few favors and a lot of
elbow grease.
"When cleanup was done and the paint
dried, potential sponsors could see our
vision," he said. "They would come in and
say, 'I like where this is going.' That's how we
