Christopher P. Michel is an American photographer and entrepreneur, who founded Military.com.[1] He is the current artist in residence at the National Academies.
Michel attended the University of Illinois. He served as a flight officer in the US Navy,[2] and later as a lieutenant commander in the reserves. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1998,[3] and returned to the school as an entrepreneur-in-residence in 2010.[4]
In 2000, Michel founded Military.com, an early website providing news and practical information about the military for active service members, veterans, and their family members.[5] It was acquired by Monster Worldwide in 2004.[6]
In 2006, he founded Affinity Labs, a company building social networking and career-building sites for professional communities. It was acquired in 2008.[7][8] In 2010, his work with these companies was profiled in The Intelligent Entrepreneur.[9]
In 2008 he started an early stage investment firm, Nautilus Ventures.[10][11]
From 2005 to 2009 he wrote The Military Advantage, a guide to veterans benefits.[12] Starting in 2009, publication was taken over by the Naval Institute Press.[13]
He is a nature and portrait photographer,[14] producing collections for the Navy[15] and for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where he advised on climate communication.[16][17] In 2021 he became their first artist in residence,[18] producing a portrait series of American scientists.[17][19] He has taught photography at the Esalen Institute[20] and Santa Fe Workshops,[21] and was an ambassador for Leica Camera.[22][23]
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