Mikkel Vestergaard

Mikkel founded Sceye® in 2014, a company building revolutionary stratospheric platforms that aim to connect the unconnected and protect our planet and our people. Sceye will use the stratosphere – unchartered territory that exists between air traffic and low-Earth orbit –  to place High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) at 65.000 feet. These HAPS will provide unsurpassed remote sensing and connectivity capabilities through persistence and proximity, building complementary infrastructure where communications towers, drones, and satellites lack capacity.

As the owner of Vestergaard®, a global humanitarian enterprise dedicated to improving the health and well-being of vulnerable people, Mikkel drives visionary solutions that contribute to a healthier, more sustainable, and socially just planet by fighting diseases including malaria, HIV/AIDS, diarrheal disease and neglected tropical diseases, decreasing hunger and malnutrition, and enhancing gender equality. 

Vestergaard® is the largest global producer of long-lasting insecticidal bed nets. More than 2 billion people have benefited from PermaNet® bed nets, which have contributed to the reduction in deaths from malaria by more than half over the past two decades. In 2020, Mikkel spun Vestergaard’s water portfolio into an independent company, LifeStraw®, which produces award-winning, life-saving water filters and was named “Best Invention of the Year” by Time Magazine in 2005, 2023, and 2024. 

In addition to his company leadership, Mikkel has served as an advisor to the prime minister of his native Denmark and was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Mikkel was made an elder of the Luhya tribe of western Kenya, a rare and important honor for foreigners who have touched the lives of Kenyans in an extraordinary manner. Mikkel has served on the board of directors of the Roll Back Malaria partnership, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. He was also a member of the NASA/USAID LAUNCH Council, served on the UN Women’s advisory board for Nordic countries and currently serves on The Explorers Club Board of Directors and Board of Trustees.

For his contributions to humanitarian efforts, Mikkel has been honored with the Social and Economic Innovation Award from The Economist, was elected to the “Women Deliver 100” list of the most influential people contributing to the health of women and girls around the world, was celebrated at the Danish Hero Gala in Copenhagen, and was presented with the Saatchi & Saatchi Award for World Changing Ideas, among others.