Charlie Fink

Charlie Fink is a Forbes columnist, writing the weekly column "This Week in XR" and co-hosting its companion podcast. He is the author of the critically acclaimed AR-enabled books "Charlie Fink's Metaverse" (2017) and "Convergence, How The World Will Be Painted With Data" (2019), and a revered speaker who gives keynotes on topics related to AI, XR, and The Metaverse globally. Fink teaches XR at Chapman University in Orange, California, and also at Arizona State University. Fink is a consultant to some of the leading companies in the XR (AR/VR) world, with his practice focused on helping tech companies tell their stories.

In the 1990s, Fink was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of VR pioneer Virtual World Entertainment. His career in technology began in 1992 when he joined Disney’s pioneering location-based VR company. Previously, he was the youngest creative vice-president at Disney Feature Animation during Disney’s second golden age of animation (1985-1992), where he famously originated the The Lion King concept. Fink was Senior Vice President & Chief Creative Officer of AOL Studios (1995-1999), and President of American Greetings Interactive and Blue Mountain (2000-2004). His extensive experience also includes exits from several startups and running the New York Musical Festival.