Mike Balow

Mike Balow
  • Trustee
  • Term ends Jan. 1, 2033

Mike Balow was elected to an eight-year term on the MSU Board of Trustees in November 2024.

After graduation from the United States Naval Academy, he served on active duty for seven years as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, 1st in the U.S. Pacific Fleet and then with the First Marine Division and finally as an instructor at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City.

His professional experience includes program and project management roles at Johnson Controls, Inc. and Toll Brothers, Inc. For 14 years, Balow worked at Ashley Capital, LLC, and was involved in multiple development projects that repurposed and gave new life to former industrial sites in Michigan. He currently is a vice president at CBRE, Inc. in Southfield, Michigan, where he is a commercial real estate broker and consultant.

Balow’s board and volunteer experience includes roles as the president of the Plymouth-Canton Steelers Football Club and St. Lazarus Church in Detroit. He also served as the treasurer and executive board member of the Livonia Westland Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Youth Football and Cheer Conference, in addition to coaching numerous youth sports teams. He is a strong advocate of coaching, mentoring, lifelong learning and empowering young men and women to succeed.

Balow’s and his wife, Debbie, have made Plymouth Township their home for many years and are the proud parents of three daughters, the oldest of whom is a 2023 graduate of the Broad School of Business and was an “S” letter winner as a varsity swimmer at MSU.