Michelle Lee is a global marketing and content executive and the former VP of Global Editorial & Publishing at Netflix, where she led global social media, digital and print content marketing, and podcasts. She was named an Adcolor Legend in 2021 for her work over the years in diversity and inclusion. Prior to Netflix, she was the Editor in Chief of Allure for six years and transformed the well-known media brand into an innovative, multi-faceted brand that champions diversity and challenges old-fashioned beauty standards. She was named Adweek’s Editor of the Year in 2017, while Allure was named Magazine of the Year for their groundbreaking covers, such as the July 2017 This Is American Beauty cover featuring model Halima Aden in a hijab and their September 2017 oath to ban the term “anti-aging” from their lexicon, which sparked global conversation about how we speak about aging. Allure was also a 2019 National Magazine Award finalist for its March 2018 issue The Culture of Beauty, featuring Lupita Nyong’o.
Prior to Allure, Lee was Editor in Chief of NYLON, NYLON Guys, and nylon.com. In 2015, she launched NYLON Studio, the company’s in-house creative agency and was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer, putting her in charge of ideation and execution of native advertising, in addition to her EIC role.
Previously, she was Co-founder/Chief Marketing Officer at branded content agency Magnified Media.
Lee has spoken at SXSW, Google, CES, Cannes Lion, Columbia, Wharton, and has appeared on Today, GMA, CNN, and more.
Lee was a Scout for Sequoia Capital, an advisor for Silicon Foundry, and is an advisor for Sequoia-backed beauty tech startup NEWNESS. For four years, she sat on the board of ColorComm; and currently sits on the Board of Gold House and Advisory Council of Act to Change. She is a member of Adweek’s Innovators Council and was a member of Twitter’s original Content Council and was named to the Gold House A100 of most influential Asians, Digiday’s Glossy 50, and Create & Cultivate’s Creative 100 in 2017. She is a recipient of a 2019 ColorComm Circle Award.