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.