Michael Lyon

Michael Lyon is an accomplished global business mentor, entrepreneur, lawyer, adventurer, and author whose forty-year career spans startups, government, finance, legal roles, and frontier technologies. Since 2018, he has been a mentor with the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), one of the world’s leading accelerator programs, where he has guided over a hundred ventures in ocean, space, and emerging technologies. He advises U.S. and international firms on business development, fundraising, legal strategy and compliance, and transnational growth, integrating practical insights from experience in more than 100 countries.

Mike’s experience bridges both pioneering startups and high-stakes government leadership. He played a key role in launching the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) during the U.S. Savings & Loan Crisis as Special Assistant to FDIC Chairman William Seidman. The RTC scaled to thousands of employees within months, overseeing assets larger than most global banks and resolving more than 700 failed institutions , including three large bank failures. That first-hand experience with rapid scaling and crisis management – working on a government startup – brings added perspective to his talks on leadership, resilience, and organizational growth.

In the private sector, Mike helped shape the commercial space industry, holding leadership roles at the pioneering Space Adventures—organizer of the world’s first space tourist flights—and at Zero Gravity Corp, the company that commercialized weightless flight experiences in the United States. Mike launched Xtronaut, with the leader of the NASA $1 billion OSIRIS-REx space mission, and together they created five STEM board games on space and the oceans topics. He also served as general counsel to multiple firms across industries: real estate workouts, space, AI, defense, deep-ocean exploration. His combination of legal, operational, and entrepreneurial experience gives audiences a grounded perspective on risk, innovation, and strategy.

Beyond his professional experience, Mike is a passionate traveler and adventurer who has often combined these interests with business ventures and family experiences. He has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro twice (most recently at age 65 with his son), backpacked around the world three times, sailed the Caribbean for a year, dived 2,500 meters the ocean’s deep hydrothermal vents, and cycled across Europe every summer over the last three decades—including a 2,800 km ride along the entire Danube River with his son Joshua. These experiences animate his keynotes, presenting how lessons from exploration apply directly to leadership and business growth.

Educated at Harvard Law School, the London School of Economics, and Brandeis University, Mike blends academic rigor with real-world experience. Today he speaks to global business audiences about startup growth and mentorship, international strategy, and lessons from adventure and exploration.