The Metaverse Standards Forum is pleased to announce it has completed its first Board of Director elections following incorporation as a non-profit consortium earlier in 2023. Principal Members of the Forum were eligible to stand for election and vote in the balloting process. 27 nominees were received for the 11 Board seats.
The Forum was fortunate to receive a highly qualified and diverse slate of candidates from many industry-leading organizations that are active in the development of the metaverse, and extends a hearty congratulations to our new Board of Directors that will serve through early 2024:
Matt White | CEO, Berkeley Synthetic – A generative AI researcher, Matt is known for successfully deploying large-scale AI platforms across the telecom, gaming, media, and entertainment industries.
Patrick Cozzi | CEO, Cesium – Patrick is dedicated to advancing the field of 3D geospatial and is a recognized expert in 3D graphics and mapping technology, open standards and open-source software.
Edwina Fitzmaurice | Ernst & Young Global Chief Customer Success Officer – Edwina leads a network of customer success technology hubs across EMEIA, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas and works with EY’s largest accounts on their technology strategies.
Paul Higgs | Huawei Vice President of Video Industry Development – Paul brings 20+ years of experience in systems architecture, engineering, and development management for next-gen technology to the table.
William Benman JD | CEO of Integrated Virtual Networks and Web3D Consortium Board Member – Bill is the inventor of multiple patents on IVN’s Silhouette® Technology and has experience in telecommunications, aerospace, and intellectual property law.
Ulrich Dropmann | Nokia Head of Standardization and Industry Environment – Ulrich heads external standardization engagement and is responsible for global and regional standardization including radio spectrum aspects.
Christine Perey | President, PEREY Research & Consulting – Christine specializes in helping organizations identify new opportunities in the augmented reality ecosystem.
Thomas Stockhammer | Qualcomm Senior Director of Technical Standards – Thomas is an award-winning tech and standards leader in mobile multimedia, TV, adaptive video streaming, 5G Broadcast, XR technologies, and is also IEEE Fellow.
Virginie Maillard | SIEMENS Head of Technology Field Simulation and Digital Twin – Virginie leads tech research in the US for SIEMENS and serves as the global Head of research in Simulation and Digital Twin
Dr. Yu Yuan | Co-founder, VerseMaker – Yu also serves as President of the IEEE Standards Association and is a visionary scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and investor in the areas of Consumer Technology, Multimedia, Virtual Reality, Internet of Things, and Digital Transformation.
Elizabeth Rothman, Esq. | XRSI.ORG Advisor – Elizabeth is an attorney and advisor in the emerging technology space often working at the forefront of legal, privacy, and safety concerns presented by the implementation and convergence of technologies in digital environments.
“The breadth and depth of expertise in the diverse Forum membership is both inspiring and humbling,” says Neil Trevett, Metaverse Standards Forum president and vice president of developer ecosystems at NVIDIA. “We are indeed fortunate to have an experienced and engaged Board of Directors that will enable us to raise the activities of the Forum to the next level as we continue to break new ground in encouraging interoperability through cooperation in a series of domains that are vital to the metaverse.”
The Forum’s Board of Directors will be responsible for ensuring that the Forum is effectively executing on its mission to provide a unique, neutral venue for cooperation between standards organizations and companies to foster the development of interoperability standards for an open and inclusive metaverse.
A special thank you to everyone who nominated and participated in our first Board election!
Supportive Quotes from the Metaverse Standards Forum Directors
“I can’t overstate the significance of the Metaverse Standards Forum. It’s an essential platform that gathers diverse stakeholders—from technologists and policymakers to entrepreneurs and academics—to collectively shape the future of the Metaverse. By focusing on the development of vital standards and open-source software, this forum is playing an indispensable role in ensuring that the Metaverse evolves into an inclusive, secure, and ethically responsible digital frontier for all,” said Matt White, CEO, Berkeley Synthetic.
“Just as open standards and interoperability enabled the social and economic impact of the Internet, they will enable the metaverse. This scale and complexity requires collaboration across industries and organizations working together to grow the pie for all participants. The Forum is the gathering point for this, and its Board of Directors represents the breadth and passion of its members. It is an honor to contribute,” said Patrick Cozzi, CEO, Cesium.
“The Metaverse Standards Forum is unique due to the diversity of background, as is the Metaverse with so many different actors, use cases, technical and standard related aspects. I look forward to help making the Metaverse Standards Forum a successful vehicle bringing the Metaverse to life via the MSF Board,” said Ulrich Dropmann, Nokia.
“The Metaverse is about connecting many diverse people and industries from all across the world to communicate, experience and share. This initial board is a perfect representation of this global diversity. I am excited to work with so many unique colleagues and happy to share my personal as well as Qualcomm’s opinions and experience for the benefits of the Metaverse Standards Forum,” said Thomas Stockhammer, senior director of technical standard, Qualcomm.
“Siemens has been involved in the Metaverse Standard Forum since the very beginning. I am very proud to join the recently created Board of Directors to contribute even more to this important endeavor. No company can innovate alone. Working in ecosystems is necessary to bring valuable products to our customers and simply make the innovations happen. That’s why this Forum is key to create the conditions for ensuring the successful adoption of Metaverse products, emphasizing performance and interoperability” said Virginie Maillard, SIEMENS
“One of the wonderful aspects of the Metaverse Standards Forum is its deliberate stance as not being a Standards Development Organization (SDO). This positioning fosters inherently collaborative and complementary relationships with various SDOs, without causing concerns about overlap. This unique position within the global metaverse community establishes it as an ideal platform for promoting constructive dialogues across domains and organizations,” said Dr. Yu Yuan, Co-founder, VerseMaker.
“The Forum represents a unique opportunity for proactive multidisciplinary collaboration in an emerging space. The initial board represents broad-based experience across industries and as a global non-profit focused on privacy, safety, inclusion, human rights, and responsible innovation in emerging tech ecosystems, XRSI is proud to support and actively contribute to this ambitious effort,” said Elizabeth Rothman, Esq., XRSI.ORG