Christopher P. Michel (born August 26, 1967) is an American photographer, entrepreneur and investor. He is the artist-in-residence at the National Academies, founder of

Affinity Labs Affinity Labs is a company that builds social networking sites for niche groups such as firefighters, police officers, nurses and the Armed Forces. In January 2008, Affinity Labs was acquired by Monster Worldwide for US$61 million. Affinity Labs ...

, Military.com and Nautilus Ventures.

Early life and career

Christopher Michel at 70,000 Feet in a U-2

Education

Michel earned his commission from the

NROTC The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 19 ...

program at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, where he graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

and was selected as the distinguished naval graduate. He earned an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

in 1998. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by

Tiffin University Tiffin University is a private university in Tiffin, Ohio. It was founded in 1888 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the main campus in Tiffin, Ohio; the Unive ...

Military

Prior to his business career, Michel served as a Naval Flight Officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. While on active duty, Michel flew as a Navigator, Tactical Coordinator and Mission Commander aboard the

P-3C Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.

as Aide to the Chief of the Naval Reserve.

Career

Business

In 1999, he founded Military.com, an online portal for

servicemember Military personnel are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, air force, space force, and coast guard), rank (officer, non-commissioned officer, or ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

s and their families. In 2006, Michel founded Affinity Labs, which runs a portfolio of online professional communities. Both Military.com and Affinity Labs were purchased by

Monster Worldwide Monster Worldwide, Inc. is an American provider of employment services, the largest of which is Monster.com. Through online media sites and services, the company delivers targeted audiences to advertisers. In 2010, these operating segments re ...

. In 2008, he founded Nautilus Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm. Michel serves as a Director of Dale Carnegie and CatchLight. He previously served on the boards of 3D Robotics, Kixeye, Castlight Health (NYSE: CSLT), International Data Group (IDG), the

United Service Organizations The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

(USO),

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...

(USNI), Tugboat Yards, the USS Arizona Memorial Fund, the

U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation The United States Navy Memorial is a memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring those who have served or are currently serving in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the Merchant Marine. It lies on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 7th Street ...

, Alliance Health & EZ Board. He was also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at

during the 2010–2011 school year and was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

. Michel is an advisor to the

Union of Concerned Scientists The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a nonprofit science advocacy organization based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. Anne Kapuscinski, Professor of Environmenta ...

, a Fellow of the

Royal Geographic Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, and a member of the

Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

Writing and photography

Michel is also a photographer and the inaugural Artist-in-Residence at the

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...

. His appointment is focused on leveraging visual storytelling to elevate the work of scientists, engineers and medical professionals in society. Michel has been working with the National Academies since 2009. He has been a member of the President’s Circle and on the advisory board of the Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS) . He currently serves as an advisor to the Climate Communications Initiative. He was formerly Photo Editor-at-Large for The Bold Italic and has published a number of fine art books. He is currently working on his latest book with travel writer,

Pico Iyer Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer (born 11 February 1957), known as Pico Iyer, is a British-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his travel writing. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including ''Video Night in Kathmandu ...

. Michel is also a photography instructor at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and Esalen. He is also an adventure guide with Natural World Safaris, leading trips in the Polar regions. Chris works closely with

Leica Camera Leica Camera AG () is a German company that manufactures cameras, optical lenses, photographic lenses, binoculars, Telescopic sight, rifle scopes and microscopes. The company was founded by Ernst Leitz in 1869 (Ernst Leitz Wetzlar), in Wetz ...

. Additionally, he was an ambassador for the launch of the

Leica SL2 The Leica SL2 is a full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera released by Leica Camera on 6 November 2019. The camera uses the Leica L-Mount lenses range and is part of the L-Mount Alliance of camera bodies that Leica co-developed with Pa ...

camera. Michel was also longtime columnist in ''Proceedings'' magazine. He is also one of three protagonists in Bill Murphy's book, ''The Intelligent Entrepreneur: How Three Harvard Business School Graduates Learned the 10 Rules of Successful Entrepreneurship'', published by Henry Holt in 2010. Penguin in Antarctica jumping out of the water.jpg,

Emperor penguin The emperor penguin (''Aptenodytes forsteri'') is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in length and weighing from . Feathers of th ...

in Antarctica (2013) Humpback Whales - Flickr - Christopher.Michel (38).jpg,

Humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

(2014) Sam Abell.jpg,

Sam Abell Sam Abell (born 1945 in Sylvania, Ohio) is an American photographer known for his frequent publication of photographs in ''National Geographic''. Sam Abell's love of photography began due to the influence of his father who was a geography tea ...

(2016) Tenzin Gyatso - 14th Dalai Lama (2012).jpg,

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

(2012) A_woman_of_Papua_New_Guinea_with_facepaint.jpg, Woman in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

(2004) File:World famous photographer, Morton Beebe (6997940423).jpg, Morton Beebe, photographer

Publications

*''The Military Advantage: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Military & Veterans Benefits'',

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 2005

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Christopher 1967 births American chief executives American corporate directors American non-fiction writers Living people Harvard Business School alumni Henry Crown Fellows Place of birth missing (living people) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni