Michelle Lee

Michelle Lee is the former Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the first woman to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property in the agency’s 200-plus year history. An MIT-trained computer scientist and Stanford Law graduate, she brings unparalleled expertise in technology, innovation, and intellectual property strategy to the keynote stage.

A Career at the Forefront of Innovation
Before leading the USPTO’s 13,000-person organization with a $3.4 billion annual budget, Michelle served as Deputy General Counsel and Head of Patents and Patent Strategy at Google. She co-founded ChIPs (Chief IP Counsels), wrote her MIT thesis on artificial intelligence, and held research positions at both MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab and HP’s Research Lab. Growing up in Silicon Valley, she was inspired to build her own hand-held radio as a child before simultaneously earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT.

Modernizing Innovation Policy
During her tenure at the USPTO, Michelle modernized the 225-year-old agency, streamlined review processes, and created maximum economic benefit for American inventors and businesses. She was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2015.

Keynote Topics
Michelle speaks on artificial intelligence and its impact on business, the future of technology, intellectual property strategy, and navigating disruptive innovation.

What the Future Looks Like: Technology, Innovation, and Resulting Business Opportunities

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.

Developments in Artificial Intelligence: How It Will Change Your Life Including The Way You Do Business

Creating machines as intelligent as humans has captured the imagination of mankind since antiquity.  For decades, scientists have been working on robots and computer algorithms to simulate human intelligence and decision making.  We are now at the cusp of some of the most consequential changes to our lives in decades brought about by advances in artificial intelligence.  Drawing upon her experiences at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab, at Google and as the head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (where she oversaw the review of inventions from across the globe), The Honorable Michelle Lee will paint a picture of our future world with AI.   Ms. Lee delivers an enthralling glimpse into the future and how business leaders can and should think about using this technology to achieve competitive advantage OR prepare themselves and their companies for the changes to come.