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Who's Who: Michael Lee

Traveling 'On the High Road' observing ATM trends around the globe is only a small part of ATM Industry Association International Director Mike Lee's mission to further the worldwide growth of the ATM business.

November 8, 2001

Michael Lee became involved in the ATM industry somewhat by accident; since then, he has traveled the globe to further the well-being of the business, always amazed by this common technology thread that connects so much of the world.

"It's amazing where you'll find ATMs turning up," said theATM Industry Association'sinternational director. Lee finds ATMs "in different countries and different cultures and different income levels. You see them in climates where it is minus 30 degrees. I've seen them in the heart of London and in African villages."

African villages?

"It was in an African village northeast of South Africa," he explained. "I was on holiday with family. Ngodwana is the name of the village. This was a non-bank-owned machine near the petrol station. I would never have expected to find it in quite an out-of-the-way place, but it was very well presented because it had very good signage from the road. In fact, the irony of this particular ATM is that it was better signposted than any ATMs I had seen, even in the city."

Though he's always on the lookout for ways to promote the ATM, Lee doesn't see himself as a worldwide ambassador for the ATM industry. Rather, he is focused on completing the tasks necessary to move the industry forward.

For instance, ATMIA is currently working with the Metropolitan Police Services at New Scotland Yard to establish an ATM security group, and along with it worldwide security measures to stop ATM crime.

"We believe that with technology and industry-wide strategy, we can get crime to migrate out of the industry," Lee said. "It's probably the most important project at the moment."

Another important undertaking is a "pictogram" or symbol that, Lee hopes, will eventually be adopted worldwide as a universally recognized symbol of all ATMs. The icon, a black-and-white graphic of a hand collecting several bills from a slot created by NCR industrial designer Andrew Kit, was selected through a contest sponsored by ATMIA to commemorate the deployment of the world's one millionth ATM earlier this year.

"It will have to be tested in different cultures before it can be used internationally," Lee said, "but that's an important project, because it's the first time there will be a global icon for the ATM."

These projects illustrate Lee's global thinking, which no doubt stems from his experiences of traveling abroad. Born in northern England and raised in South Africa, he studied education, theology and English en route to a career in research and development.

It was after he moved back to England in 1997 and began organizing international conferences a few years ago, however, that he began to truly appreciate just how big the world is.

"It kind of opened up contact with the rest of the world, as it were," he said. "I do travel quite a lot, and that has opened up a lot of contacts - it has enabled me to know other cultures and visit other countries and find out what's happening."

While organizing an ATM conference in London in 1999 he met Tom Harper, co-founder of ATMIA. They struck up a friendship that led to Lee establishing a European chapter of the ATMIA and, "that went so well, they sort of gave me international responsibilities."

Harper knew quickly that Lee was his man, and Lee hasn't let him down. He began by building a European board of directors made up of influential ATM industry figures, and he hasn't slowed down since.

"(Lee) has done an incredible job building a European board," Harper said. "It's somewhere around 30 people; I've honestly lost count. They're all recognized leaders in the industry. … He's done quite a bit of traveling throughout the world. His understanding of the various business cultures and practices was necessary for ATMIA to branch out on a global scale."

Not that Lee spends all his time jetting around the world. In fact, he now lives in County West Suffix, about an hour southeast of London by train -- so he doesn't even live in the big city.

Along with spending time with his wife, Sannettha, and daughters Michaela and Melissa, he closely follows sports. He also enjoys writing and creating oil paintings. His modern popular theology book, "Joy in the Heart of Jesus," was published in 1996 and he has other projects, but he admits there is little time to write, and his schedule doesn't allow him to paint much anymore either.

His global thinking and creativity, however, certainly are working wonders for ATMIA. With Lee's diligence, Ngodwana may someday have two ATMs.

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

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