Michael Miller

Michael Miller is an international lawyer, author, journalist, radio host, public speaker and investor. Michael worked as an attorney practicing in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and intellectual property at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York and Skadden Arps in Los Angeles. Michael worked under multiple investors including Carl Icahn, Robert Campeau and Paul Bilzerian on many of the largest ever U.S. corporate mergers and acquisitions, including: the takeover of E.F. Hutton, Singer Sewing Machine, Allied and Federated Stores, and $22 billion takeover of RJR Nabisco, the largest transaction in corporate history at the time as well as corporate financings for Drexel Lambert led by Mike Milken.

Michael transitioned into investment management in 2008 as a Managing Director of Bel Air Investment Advisers, one of the largest independent asset managers in Los Angeles, which oversaw $5 billion for 300 wealthy families and  at Northern Trust, where he oversaw the Wealth Advisory Group as a Managing Director responsible for over $2 billion in asset oversight, client management, banking and trust and estates.

In 2015 after a serious car accident, Michael shifted his focus to select legal projects, mentoring, philanthropy, creative ventures and cannabis lobbying, advocacy and caregiving. In 2018, Michael launched one of the first podcasts in the nascent cannabis industry entitled, “CannaBusiness” on the Dash radio network. A year later, Michael was named the Cannabis Editor and Evangelist for the LA Weekly (5 million monthly international subscribers) and oversaw the creation of the first full time cannabis section in a general interest U.S. weekly, where he writes and oversees strategy and content.

Michael is considered a global thought leader in the cannabis space, is a sought after international speaker, and has advised numerous companies, lawmakers and government officials. His articles have been published by Benzinga, LA Weekly, Morningstar, Yahoo News & Finance, MSN, Merry Jane and Colombia Cannabis Investor. Michael recently assisted a joint coalition of Colombian lawmakers to amend the Colombian Constitution and draft proposed modified cannabis legislation. Michael is in the process of completing the creation of Ygeia Ventures, a global biotech fund focused on the cannabis plant, anticipated to launch 4rth quarter 2019. In addition, Michael is the Senior Advisor to Fusion LA, the first technology accelerator between the 8200 of the Israeli Defense Forces and Southern California. Recently, Michael partnered with Senator Gustavo Bolivar of Colombia, an Emmy nominee and LATAM icon to produce a documentary on the War on Drugs, entitled, “The Chain”.

Michael’s children’s book, “The Gift” was published last year, and he is presently working on two cannabis focused books: “Weedonomics: from Criminal to Capitalist Enterprise, and “Conversations at the Cannabis Crossroad”. Raised with the dna of philanthropy and volunteerism, Michael strives to fulfill the obligations of leaving the world a better place with philanthropic involvement including from academic institutions, equal access to the arts, social issues and disease prevention.