Addition date
Mar 16, 2022 12:16 PM
Column
Raphael ThysLAN
Are chief metaverse officers the newest executives to join the c-suite?
Brands entering unexplored meta-territory are looking for savvy digital experts to guide their growth and implement best practices in the virtual realm. Below, we’re highlighting high-profile companies creating and hiring for senior positions to lead the charge into the metaverse this year.
- Disney hired an executive to oversee their metaverse strategy in February. Mike White, who has been with the entertainment giant for more than 10 years, will oversee a team of senior leaders in technology, storytelling, and strategy in exploring “strategic pillars of storytelling excellence, innovation, and audience focus,” to quote chief executive Bob Chapek. White will lead as vice president of this new department: the Next Generation Storytelling and Consumer Experiences.
- Luxury fashion and beauty styling platform Drest appointed a new CEO to focus on metaverse development in February as well. Previously COO, Lisa Bridgett aims to focus on “scaling Drest through our developer ecosystem, marketing channels and strategic revenue streams, [and] building on the impressive growth our user base is experiencing,” she said in an official statement.
Drest photoshoot and app: Aletta Versace
- In an industry first, Roblox hired Gemma Sheppard as the metaverse global fashion director this February, in collaboration with UK-based investment firm Metaventures. Over the course of her career, Gemma has worked on fashion projects with top fashion names including Tom Ford, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney. Now, she'll guide Roblox users in styling, personalizing, and customizing their digital purchases, helping to create their own digital look books, wardrobes, and host personal styling showrooms.
- Cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX appointed Lauren Remington Platt, a fashion and beauty entrepreneur, as its head of global luxury partnerships. Announced in February, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said Platt will be “essential for the next phase of growth of our team's partnership and branding focus," and anticipates that the move will help FTX capitalize on the $300 billion luxury goods market.
- Google Cloud began hiring a team of blockchain experts in January, tapping into the fast-growing decentralized finance sector of the crypto market. Following recent expansion into retail and healthcare, the cloud division is expanding to serve its customers including Dapper Labs, Hedera, and Theta Labs, and may eventually accept payments in cryptocurrencies.
As the metaverse continues to infiltrate a range of industries, more brands may find themselves hiring for digital talent and meta-strategy in order to effectively integrate themselves into the virtual realm.
The metaverse is coming. Which brands are leading the way?
Teleportation, holograms, and roaming avatars—this isn’t the latest sci-fi movie, it’s the future of work.