Lai, Michael: - Michael T Lai is Dean of X Thinking Institute, Senior Vice President of Knowledge Management / Senior Partner of TANG Consulting, and Associate Professor of Practice at Tongji University, College of Design & Innovation. As Dean of X Thinking Institute, Mike leads a highly skilled team of researchers, content creators, and educators in equipping business leaders with the knowledge and tools to create business value through the delivery of extraordinary experiences. In addition, Mike oversees the knowledge development and application for TANG Consulting to enhance the value and delivery of TANG's offerings to clients.Prior to his work with X Thinking Institute, Mike spent 15 years helping clients position, envision, design, and deliver brand experiences. His experience covers a wide number of industries in the United States and Greater China, including creating insurance retail stores in the financial industry, innovating new ways of interacting with smart homes in the consumer electronics industry, redefining the car purchasing and ownership experience at dealerships in automotive industry, and positioning university brand experiences for prospective students in the education industry. His clients have included companies such as Nationwide Insurance, JPMorgan Chase, Legg Mason, Baojun, Amway, Changhong, Alliance Data, Big Lots, and more.Mike currently teaches "X Thinking and eXperience Design" and "Design Thinking and Communicating Design" in the College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University (China). He has previously held posts at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong) and the Columbus College of Art & Design (United States). Mike holds a PhD in Design from Tsinghua University (China), a Master of Design (MDes) in Interaction Design from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong), and a BFA in Advertising & Graphic Design from the Columbus College of Art & Design (United States).