Michael Lyon

Michael Lyon has been a mentor with the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) since 2018, mentoring hundreds of ventures in ocean, space, and diverse emerging technology sectors. He advises early-stage U.S. and international firms on business development, fundraising, legal strategy, and transnational growth. He has experience in over 100 countries, with a focus today on the U.S., Europe, the GCC, and SE Asia. 

Mike helped develop the commercial space sector over the last 25 years, working with and advising scores of companies in this sector. He held leadership positions in pioneering companies such as Space Adventures, which organized the first space tourist flights (Tito and Shuttleworth), and Zero Gravity Corporation (Zero G). He also served as general counsel to multiple early-stage firms, including a large real estate workout company and Deep Ocean Expeditions, which used Russian MIR submersibles for research, tourism, and media productions. Earlier in his career, he practiced law with firms such as Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C.

Mike worked in the U.S. government to help launch a critical government startup during the massive Savings and Loan Crisis. As Special Assistant to FDIC Chairman William Seidman, he played a role in founding the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), a new agency created to resolve failing financial institutions as the S&L sector collapsed. The RTC scaled in months to thousands of employees, managing aggregate assets larger than most major banks. Mike contributed to resolving (liquidating, restructuring, closing) more than 700 thrift failures and several of America’s largest bank collapses. 

Beyond his professional work, Mike is a passionate traveler and adventurer. He has backpacked around-the-world three times, sailed for a year in the Caribbean, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro twice including most recently in 2024 with his son Joshua, dove 2500 meters to the hydrothermal vents inside the Russian MIR 2 submersible, and cycled a couple of weeks in Europe every summer over the last 30 years including a major trip along the entire Danube River from Germany to the Black Sea recently with Joshua.