Background

Michael Burniston is an investor-operator with 25 years of experience founding, acquiring, scaling, and exiting lower middle market businesses. The centerpiece of his operating career was McBryde Oil Company, a regional fuel distribution platform he led as President and Managing Partner for nearly 15 years, where he expanded sales volume and geographic footprint by over 70%, increased annual investor returns by more than 40%, executed a minority investor buyout, and ultimately sold the business to a strategic acquirer in 2024. Earlier in his career he founded and exited multiple businesses across technology-enabled and services sectors, and held senior executive roles where he built national operating platforms and led divestitures to strategic buyers.

Why American Operator

After selling McBryde Oil, Michael found himself drawn to American Operator because the model mirrors what he has spent his career doing: acquiring solid businesses, putting the right operators in place, and building the infrastructure that lets them grow. His experience on both sides of the transaction, as a buyer who has evaluated over 100 businesses and as an operator who has run one for 15 years, gives him a complete picture of what a successful ownership transition requires. He is mission-aligned in the truest sense, having lived the journey from acquisition to exit, and he is eager to put that experience directly to work for the next generation of operators stepping into ownership for the first time.