CREATIVE DIRECTOR & FOUNDER

An esteemed creative director and leader, Michael expertly blends artistic vision with technical innovation. With a 15-year career spanning XR startups to AAA game studios, he excels in fostering team collaboration, studio growth, and driving the creative execution of award-winning games and demos. His notable contributions have led to record-breaking sales at EA Mobile and fueled a substantial increase in Magic Leap’s Series D funding round.

CHARACTER ART DIRECTOR

• 25 years of experience.

• Co-Founder of EA Firemonkeys, later acquired by EA.

• Art Director of many #1 Downloaded titles on mobile, including: Dead Space iOS, The Sims 3, Mirrors Edge, Need for speed: Hot Pursuit, and Mass Effect: Infiltrator.

SPATIAL AUDIO DESIGNER

• 10 years of experience.

• Wētā Workshop/Magic Leap.

• realworld one.

• NZXR (now Niantic, Inc.)

LEAD VFX ARTIST

• 20 years of experience.

• Wētā Workshop/Magic Leap.

• BRON Studios.

• Gameloft.

A lifelong builder and futurist, Ben began animating with computers in the 1980s. After working on his fifth VFX Academy Award nominated film at Weta Digital, Ben pivoted to XR at the startup, Magic Leap. In 2016, he forayed further into startups, first as a founding investor of Ziva Dynamics, and then as an executive leader at Meshcapade, working in ML/CV and taking it from a single employee to dozens, along with net positive income and a successful seed round.

• 40 years LBE dev experience.
• Playologist.

• Adjunct professor in invention. Over 160 patents.

• Venture and partnership with PlayPower to reinvent play by bringing the metaverse into physical spaces.

• Epic MegaGrant Recipient.

• Award-winning international in film, post production, extended virtual reality, smart technologies, business development and marketing.
• International clients: Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers U.S.Corp, Walt Disney, Marvel and Universal Studios.
• Executive Producer and Head of Production experience at HOLOGATE.

• 15 years of experience, entrepreneurial and startup growth expertise in global regions.
• Expert in ecosystem growth and development.
• Business development, including finance, acceleration/incubation, venture capital, investor relations, and overall business growth strategies.
• MBA and BBA focusing on Accounting, Finance, and Entrepreneurship.