Lessons Learned from the VR Wave

2018 saw the fall of some of the biggest early players in the most recent VR wave, but also witnessed a number of exciting developments from the announcement of Oculus Quest to the rise of Location Based VR and the smashing success of Beat Saber. This month, we’re hosting a panel to discuss some of the lessons learned from this wave and how we can apply them to the future of the XR industry.

We have three amazing panelists with experience across the XR ecosystem:

Gregg Katano is a media entrepreneur, solutions architect, speaker, and educator with over 25 years of experience in the areas of production, visual effects, stereoscopic 3D, and virtual reality. Currently, he is Partner and Vice-President of Strategy and Growth at Hologate, the world’s most successful turnkey location-based virtual reality system, and General Manager and Vice-President of Business Development of Phase Two, a curated co-working and event space for frontier tech, media and entertainment. Previously, Gregg was Chief Business Strategist at the very first and leading Google-Certified producer of ‘Google Cardboard’, and one of the early producers of stereoscopic 3D, producing the very first 3D television broadcast in high-definition.

Lesley Chinen is an Emmy Award-winning journalist turned marcom professional passionate about merging storytelling with business messaging in the emerging technology space. She is currently the Business Development Specialist for Shaking Earth Digital (SED), an XR development studio. Before joining SED, she was the Lead Producer with the Virtual Reality Festival (VR Fest) and assisted Comic Con Palm Springs (CCPS) as Executive Director of CCPS Immersive Entertainment.

Andrew Cochrane is a content creator working in interactive and immersive mediums such as virtual and augmented reality, installations, live events, and mobile & web apps. Some of his recent Director credits include creating a virtual skydiving experience for Intel used in their CEO’s CES 2017 Keynote, a VR tour of Google’s retail program, the intro for Google’s Jump 360º video platform, and a commercial for the Barco Escape theater system. Additionally, Andrew was a creative and technical lead on VR experiences for USA Today, Mr. Robot, The Strain, GE, and Michigan Football.