Michael Slater

Michael Slater is a proven Entrepreneur, International CEO, Chairman, Board Member, and Executive Coach. He has spent over 25 years running and advising companies, including startups, beginning his career as an International Trade Specialist for the U.S. Commerce Department where he advised a client base of over 200 companies of all sizes in the technology field on overseas market entry and growth strategies.

Michael was the CEO of Nik Software, an international software startup in digital photography that he co-founded, taking the company from zero to a $200M+ valuation, ultimately selling to Google. In the early stages of his company, Michael developed a self-funding strategy to grow the company that enabled it to secure a $10M strategic investment from Nikon Corporation (Japan) for a minority share of the company, valued at 14X revenue. As part of this strategic alliance, his company was responsible for developing professional photography software for Nikon’s world-wide photography business in addition to developing the company’s own branded software.

Michael attributes his success to the concept of Dreaming Backwards. He developed this concept in his company to connect the future, successful envisioned state of the company, to core and alternative strategies that drive value.

Professional Highlights:

• Led the development of strategic alliances with Fortune 500 and Fortune 50 companies including Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Adobe. His leadership drove technology collaborations with these companies that included both hardware and software solutions.
• Served as the Chairman of a diverse International Board for six years, with members from the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
• As CEO, he invested in innovative technology solutions that drove shareholder value and acquisition interest from Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, and Google. The company’s 5-year technology roadmap for hardware, software, and cloud-based solutions using the company’s technology ultimately led to the acquisition by Google.
• His company developed the #1 iOS app in its category, Snapseed, acquiring over 9M customers in its first year, winning Apple iPad app of the year before selling to Google. Snapseed continued its growth and success following the acquisition, growing to over 140 million users on both iOS and Android.
• Led the development of an international patent portfolio that secured technology patents in the U.S., Asia, and Europe.
• Has extensive experience in legal negotiations related to licensing, shareholder agreements, IP strategies, as well as strategic alliances.
• Two-time winner of the Deloitte Fast 500 award.

Michael has been a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 2007, where he served on the Board of the San Diego Coastal Chapter as Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Education Officer. Michael currently is a co-founder and CFO of Serving Good, Inc., a fast growing non-profit in California that operates free food markets for active duty military, veterans, and families in need.

Michael has a Bachelor of Arts in International Business from California State University Fullerton and an International MBA from the University of San Diego. He is married to his wife of over 30 years and has two adult sons. Michael and his wife spend time between San Diego and Northern Germany, where his wife is from.