Michelle Lee is the CEO and founder of Obsidian Strategies, a firm that advises companies on identifying their highest return-on-investment digital transformation opportunities using artificial intelligence (especially machine learning), data and intellectual property. Fortune 2 tech executive, public company board director, presidentially-appointed head of a $3+ billion government agency, MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab-trained computer scientist, Silicon Valley veteran experienced at scaling fast-growing companies with disruptive technologies, and top intellectual property expert. Leader with experience at the highest levels in technology, law, business and government who spent most of her career building and advising some of the country’s most innovative and valuable companies.
Ms. Lee has spent most of her professional career advising some of the country’s most innovative companies on technical, legal and business matters. She previously served as Google’s Deputy General Counsel and first Head of Patents and Patent Strategy, where she was responsible for the formulation and implementation of the company’s worldwide patent strategy. Prior to Google, Ms. Lee was a partner at the Silicon Valley law firm at Fenwick & West, where she counseled a wide range of high technology companies on intellectual property, corporate and litigation. Before Fenwick, Ms. Lee litigated patent and commercial cases at Keker & Van Nest and clerked for Judge Vaughn Walker, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and Judge Paul Michel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Ms. Lee has been recognized by numerous organizations for her work and contributions including by Politico Magazine as one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Visionaries in American Public Policy” in 2015, by the Washingtonian Magazine as a “Tech Titan” in 2015 and by the San Francisco Business Times and San Jose Business Journal as one of the top 100 most influential women in the Silicon Valley in 2013 and the Best Bay Area IP Lawyer in 2012. Ms. Lee speaks frequently on the topics of intellectual property, innovation, public policy and inclusion as a business strategy. Ms. Lee is proud to be the 2017 ChIPs Hall of Fame recipient.
Before building her legal career, Ms. Lee worked as a computer scientist at Hewlett-Packard Research Laboratories, as well as at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. She holds a B.S. and an M.S. in electrical engineering and computer science from M.I.T., as well as a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
She is a founding member of ChIPs and re-joined the board Jan. 1, 2018.