Michael Lim is an innovation expert serving as a trusted advisor to public, private, and nonprofit sector CEOs and executives. 

Having worked across urban planning and infrastructure, technology, and finance industries and public, private, and nonprofit sectors, Michael is knowledgeable about solving complex societal challenges through multi-sectoral collaborations and alliances. 

Michael’s innovative mindset comes from firsthand experience. He has been an entrepreneur commercializing societally impactful research funded by the National Science Foundation at universities such as MIT, USC, and UC Berkeley. He gained valuable insight and relationships with university technology transfer offices, U.S. federal departments, and global conglomerates while bringing to market high impact transportation infrastructure technologies.

After finishing his undergraduate urban planning degree, Michael spent many years in municipal infrastructure development with the United Nations in post-conflict and post-disaster areas of the Asia Pacific region and has also worked as a financier. 

Most recently, Michael worked as an investment banker with Lazard Freres & Co, where he advised industrial, technology, and retail companies on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity capital rise, and corporate defense and preparedness projects. 

Combining his experience in infrastructure, technology, and finance, Michael has served as an Executive Advisor to the City of Los Angeles and led the development of the City’s automated vehicle and connected infrastructure strategy, as well as partnerships, procurement streamlining, and innovation financing efforts. 

A dedicated surfer, Michael aspires to live off of the bounty of the sea in a catamaran one day.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Lived and worked across South and Southeast Asia as a field officer, where he led monitoring and evaluation efforts across municipal housing, environmental, and transportation infrastructure sectors in partnership with national governments and multilateral organizations, such as the European Union, IFRC, and World Bank. 
•  Advised innovative software, Internet, cybersecurity, and semiconductor technology companies on mergers and acquisitions, debt, and equity capital rises while working at Jefferies LLC in Silicon Valley.
• Advised financial institutions and governments as a Morgan Stanley investment banker in Hong Kong and led market strategy efforts for a major steel and infrastructure manufacturer as a private equity investor/operator in Singapore and Indonesia.

Credentials

• MBA with a concentration in Strategic Management and Finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School 
• Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from the University of California, Berkeley
• Coursework in Infrastructure and Project Finance from INSEAD France.