Advertising giant Publicis Groupe SA has hired an unusual executive in mid-2022 — a lion-headed digital avatar named Leon, who will serve as “chief metaverse officer” and guide clients through the attractions The virtual realm of real-world concerns.
His moment in the spotlight didn’t last long.
ChatGPT debuted five months later, and since Mark Zuckerberg renamed Facebook Meta Platforms Inc., the buzz surrounding the Metaverse has turned to artificial intelligence. Leon and the other human officers’ focus on the virtual world – an immersive digital reality where people can interact with each other – soon became an endangered species.
Executives are leaving at Walt Disney Co., Procter & Gamble Co. and Creative Artists Agency. Leon’s LinkedIn profile (yes, he had one) no longer exists, and aside from his introductory press release, there’s no mention of him on the company’s website. Publicis Groupe declined to comment.
Instead, companies are scrambling to appoint AI leaders, with Accenture and GE Healthcare both making recent hires. Some Metaverse executives have even reinvented themselves as artificial intelligence experts, deftly switching from one hot technology to the next. According to a survey by Heidrick & Struggles, an executive search and leadership consulting firm, the average compensation package is well above $1 million. Last week, Publicis said it would invest 300 million euros ($327 million) in artificial intelligence technology and talent over the next three years.
“I haven’t talked to clients about Metaverse in a long time,” said Fawad Bajwa, global AI practice leader at executive search and consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates. “Metaverse may still exist, but it’s a lonely place.”
The executive shuffle illustrates the fickleness of technology trends and the difficulty companies face in distinguishing hype from reality.
Most companies have largely moved away from the virtual world. The word was mentioned just twice on earnings calls for S&P 500 companies last quarter, compared with 63 times in the first quarter of 2022, according to Bloomberg transcript data. That year, eight out of 10 CEOs said they would either hire professionals with expertise in the area or expand their leadership team’s responsibilities to cover the area, according to Russell Reynolds. Everyone is chasing global business opportunities, and McKinsey & Company optimistically estimated at the time that the value of this opportunity could reach US$5 trillion by 2030.
Apple CEO and co-founder Nada Usina says Apple’s decision to call its new mixed reality headset Vision Pro a “spatial computing” device without any meta-references is “a focal point” Another sign that it has definitely shifted.” – Founder of NU Advisory Partners, an executive search and consulting firm focused on boards and executives. Microsoft Corp. this month surpassed Apple Inc. to become the world’s most valuable public company, thanks in large part to investor enthusiasm for its aggressive investments in artificial intelligence. Even Meta’s Zuckerberg – who once declared that metaverses were “the next frontier” – has recently begun focusing on generative artificial intelligence after spending billions on metaverse projects with little success.
All of this has some meta-experts looking for new areas or repurposing their roles. CAA Chief Metaverse Officer Joanna Popper has left the talent agency after more than a year to take a position as a “board observer” at entertainment-focused artificial intelligence startup Metaphysical.ai, which has a relationship with CAA Partnerships. (Popper did not respond to a request for comment.) Pratik Thakar, who led Coca-Cola’s virtual universe efforts in 2021 with the interactive “Real Magic” marketing campaign, is now the beverage giant’s generative artificial intelligence Global Head of Intelligence.
But not every Metaverse master can follow suit. Bajwa said the skills of AI leaders are “very different.” “You’re not just trying to repurpose someone. You’re not going to get the deep expertise you want.”
At least one Metaverse executive has fallen victim to a corporate coup. Bob Iger returns to run the Mouse House, following the departure of Disney’s Michael White and cuts to White’s Metaverse division as part of a broader overhaul. He is now the chief product officer of Zoox, the self-driving car company owned by Amazon.com. Typically, there’s less palace intrigue: Procter & Gamble’s Ioana Matei quietly left the Pampers maker last summer and now runs innovation at a global agriculture company. White did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for an interview, and Mattei declined to comment.
Several Metaverse executives remain on board, including Telefonica’s Yaiza Rubio and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE’s Nelly Mensah. But their expertise spans a variety of emerging technologies, such as digital ledger blockchain. Even companies looking to explore uses for metaverses may now turn to consultants, said Aliceson Robinson of Heidrick & Struggles. “There is still interest in engaging with consumers in a virtual world, but not as a C-suite executive,” said Robinson, a global leader in consumer, technology, entertainment and media at the executive search firm.
Jeff Wong, global chief innovation officer at professional services giant Ernst & Young LLP, said his department may have cut its Metaverse investment in half over the past year or so. “Some people joke about it as if it’s already finished and dusted,” he said, although he’s not one of them. “Metaverses can bring a lot of hope,” Huang said.
In contrast, EY now has two senior executives in charge of its global AI programs, ensuring that AI is integrated into every aspect of the business, he said. “This is a big deal for us,” Huang said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
