AWE USA 2026

Charlie Fink
United States
AIXR Podcast Host, Producer, Adjunct, and Author
The AIXR Podcast

Charlie Fink is the producer and co-host of the AIXR Podcast and teaches ‘Cinematic AI’ and ‘History and Future of Media’ at Chapman University and ASU's grad school for emerging narrative. He is the producer of the vertical AI-animated social media series, "Linda's Last Podcast,” and also serves as CEO of Cinemation.AI, an AI animation studio he co-founded with film director Rob Minkoff.

Fink's forty-year career at the intersection of storytelling and technology began at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he famously conceived the idea for "The Lion King" and became the studio’s youngest-ever creative vice-president.

Fink's work in immersive technology began in 1992 as COO of Virtual World Entertainment, a groundbreaking location-based VR company founded by Tim Disney. In 1995, AOL recruited him to serve as Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of AOL Studios. After selling his subsequent venture-backed startup, eAgents, to American Greetings Interactive, Fink served as their President and Chief Creative Officer (2000–2004), acquiring its two biggest competitors, Blue Mountain and eGreetings, and transitioned the company from free to freemium. 

Fink 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). From 2016 - 2026 he covered AI, XR and The Metaverse for Forbes. 

Fink spent a decade as Producer and Chairman of the New York Musical Festival, which nurtured Broadway hits "Title of Show," "Next to Normal," and "Guttenberg! The Musical."

05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage
Main Stage