As the first female to lead the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); as an executive at Google; and as a computer scientist at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab and HP’s Research Lab, Michelle Lee has constantly been in the forefront of the newest innovations that are disrupting our industries and driving spectacular growth in the world.
It started early on, growing up around the huge wave of Silicon Valley companies that were revolutionizing our world, inspiring her to build her own hand-held radio as a child. Her love of technology led her to simultaneously earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the MIT. She later earned her law degree at Stanford University’s School of Law because she wanted to work on the most cutting edge legal and policy issues facing high-tech companies.
Lee’s career is as remarkable as it is diverse. She is an MIT-trained computer scientist where she wrote her thesis on artificial intelligence, and an attorney and former law partner at Fenwick & West, Deputy General Counsel and Head of Patents and Patent Strategy for Google, co-founder of the Chief IP Counsels (ChIPs), the first woman Under Secretary of Commerce, and Director of the USPTO in our country’s 200+ year history.
Her focus on creating an environment that assures inventors and innovators the chance to grow and prosper, leading her into government service as Director of the USPTO’s Silicon Valley satellite office. In 2015 she was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and took the helm of USPTO’s 10,000-employee organization. During her tenure, she led a 13,000 person agency with a $3.4 billion annual budget. She modernized the 225 year-old agency, streamlining the review processes and creating the maximum economic benefit for American inventors and businesses.
Michelle Lee is a remarkable speaker who offers unique perspectives resulting from her experiences in the trenches of innovation at the MIT AI and HP Research Labs, at Google during its rise from small company to global powerhouse, and as the head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office where she witnessed first-hand inventions from across the globe. Her presentations not only journey thru the newest and most advance technologies, but also examine the business opportunities and regulations that will be key to our future. There is nobody else who has her unique experience at the highest levels as a scientist, business woman, attorney and government executive, and there is no presentation that is as effective at providing a complete picture for business leaders.
We are all excited (and maybe a little dizzy) from the constant barrage of new technologies. As the head of the US Patent and Trademark Office, Michelle Lee has overseen literally hundreds of thousands of the newest technologies and inventions, and the companies, entrepreneurs and inventors who are looking to change the world with their work. She delivers an enthralling journey into the future and provides guidelines to help leaders navigate this future.
