Michael Hostad is the Executive Director of Innovation in Milwaukee (MiKE) and co-founder of The Commons, which is an initiative of the Greater Milwaukee Committee. MiKE creates programs that lead to partnerships between corporations and emerging talent networks. The Commons is an entrepreneurial skills accelerator for students at 24 colleges and universities across Southeast Wisconsin. He has been an entrepreneur since high school and college when he built his own web development firm serving clients nationwide. Prior to his role at MiKE, Hostad served as the Director of Web and Mobile Strategy and the Chancellor's Designee for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). He founded the UWM App Brewery, which hires students to build mobile applications for researchers, non-profit organizations, and start-up organizations throughout Wisconsin.