Mike Lee

Mike Lee is a food futurist who helps the food industry see what is coming and build for it. He is the principal futurist of The Future Market, a foresight consultancy that explores what our food system could look like over the next 5 to 50 years, and he works with food and agriculture companies to turn future scenarios into present-day strategy.

He is the author and designer of Mise: On the Future of Food (pronounced "meez"), a book of four scenarios set between 2033 and 2067 that trace how today's biggest forces could reshape the way we grow, cook, and eat.

Through The Future Market and Alpha Food Labs, the mission-driven food innovation consultancy he co-founded, Mike has built future scenarios and innovation strategies for Danone, Mars, Campbell's, Givaudan, Compass, the Culinary Institute of America, Simple Mills, Banza, King Arthur Flour, Beef+Lamb New Zealand, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Earlier in his career he led product development on the Innovation & New Ventures team at Chobani.

Mike speaks worldwide on the future of food. His thinking has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg, Fast Company, and The New York Times, and on stages including Menus of Change, Natural Products Expo East and West, the Fancy Food Shows, Groceryshop, and EvokeAg.

Mike is the grandson and son of Chinese American restaurant owners in Metro Detroit, where he lives today. He was raised in those kitchens and dining rooms, and the auto industry's concept cars gave him his model for how an industry imagines its future. He holds a business degree from the University of Michigan and a design degree from Parsons School of Design.