Robert Tercek
Robert Tercek is an award-winning author and the world’s leading authority on dematerialization and the virtual economy. He has supervised the launch of new digital services that are used by hundreds of millions of people every day
Robert Tercek's videos
What Robert Tercek's clients say
"Rob helps us immeasurably as a member of the Board of Directors. He is a diplomat, a bridge-builder and a great evangelist. I trust him to speak to prospective customers and ecosystem partners and to interview our new hires. I’ve never met a more dynamic speaker who can conjure up a vision of the near future that is so compelling that it converts every one to true believers. If you are considering adding a Board member or a strategic advisor to your company, I completely trust, rely on, and highly recommend Robert Tercek and his firm General Creativity."
"I trust Rob Tercek and his firm, General Creativity, and I would recommend him to every board of directors and leadership team that can benefit from an independent external expert opinion to shape priorities in digital strategy and planning. His enthusiasm is infectious, and he is a great source of inspiration."
"Engage this man (if you can) to consult to your company at length, or even to take the most cursory glance, at whatever you are endeavoring. Robert Tercek will make your enterprise better, smarter and more profitable."
"Rob is one of the most lucid, knowledgeable and charismatic new media executives I have encountered. He also has an uncanny ability to instantly recognize the market potential of a new application or business which would be too impenetrable to most."
"Robert Tercek ranks among the very best speakers I’ve ever encountered. His speeches on the topics of innovation and creativity have influenced industry leaders in many parts of the world. Mr Tercek is an electrifying public speaker. His passion for the subject matter is infectious. Several times his comments were punctuated by spontaneous applause from the floor."
"JD Power had a great experience working with keynote speaker Robert Tercek. I am proud to give him my highest recommendation to any event planner. Rob is a top tier professional who put in a lot of extra effort into developing original material that was customized for our audience. At J.D. Power, we know what excellence looks like, and Rob Tercek is an excellent keynote speaker and emcee."
"If you’re in the information business (and we all are in the information business), Tercek’s urgent manifesto will help you see the future, so you can prepare for it."
"Robert is one of the brightest and most energetic executives I have had the pleasure of working with in my entire career. He is very well informed, he has vision and he is always looking for ways to make his efforts and those of his team the most successful in his industry. He is very worthwhile knowing and meeting. Collaborating with him will be rewarding."
"Robert is truly a visionary and an inspiration. He has a gift for always being one-step ahead of the pack. Follow Robert's lead and you follow the future. I look forward to collaborating with Robert again."
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- English
Robert Tercek's 2024 biography
Meet Robert Tercek
Robert Tercek is an award-winning author and the world’s leading authority on dematerialization and the virtual economy. He has supervised the launch of new digital services that are used by hundreds of millions of people every day, including:
- The world’s first streaming video on mobile phones
- The world’s largest live educational program on the Web
- The first animated multimedia games for personal computers and mobile
- The first multiplayer online games
During his 30 year career, Tercek has worked on both sides of the media industry, as a leader inside long-established firms that were facing disruption and also as a co-founder of several disruptive startup ventures. Before founding General Creativity, Tercek served in senior executive leadership at MTV, Sony Pictures Entertainment and at The Oprah Winfrey Network, where he was the President of Digital Media. Today he provides strategic insight about the digital economy to the leaders of Fortune 500 companies including AT&T, TimeWarner, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NBC Universal, and more.
His book Vaporized: Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World, was selected as the International Book of the Year by the editors of GetAbstract from a field of 10,000 competing business books at the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair. Vaporized is the definitive text on the dematerialized economy and the process of turning physical goods into digital services.
Tercek is a Strategic Advisor to the Johnny Carson Foundation and the Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is also a member of the board of directors at The Virtual Film School.
Meet Robert Tercek
Robert Tercek is an award-winning author and the world’s leading authority on dematerialization and the virtual economy. He has supervised the launch of new digital services that are used by hundreds of millions of people every day, including:
- The world’s first streaming video on mobile phones
- The world’s largest live educational program on the Web
- The first animated multimedia games for personal computers and mobile
- The first multiplayer online games
During his 30 year career, Tercek has worked on both sides of the media industry, as a leader inside long-established firms that were facing disruption and also as a co-founder of several disruptive startup ventures. Before founding General Creativity, Tercek served in senior executive leadership at MTV, Sony Pictures Entertainment and at The Oprah Winfrey Network, where he was the President of Digital Media. Today he provides strategic insight about the digital economy to the leaders of Fortune 500 companies including AT&T, TimeWarner, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NBC Universal, and more.
His book Vaporized: Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World, was selected as the International Book of the Year by the editors of GetAbstract from a field of 10,000 competing business books at the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair. Vaporized is the definitive text on the dematerialized economy and the process of turning physical goods into digital services.
Tercek is a Strategic Advisor to the Johnny Carson Foundation and the Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is also a member of the board of directors at The Virtual Film School.
Robert Tercek's 2024 talks & topics
HOW TO DIGITIZE THE WHOLE WORLD
The confluence of several now-mature technologies, including private 5G networks, real-time 3D tools, the Internet of Things, sensor networks, big data, and game engines, means that we can now build high-fidelity models of the real world. Around the world, cities and industrial concerns are launching digital twins of real-world infrastructure. Unlike the consumer Metaverse, which is designed as a platform for communication and entertainment, the Industrial Metaverse is a tool for obtaining greater efficiency and optimal performance from real-world operations in many fields: transportation, air travel, public safety, environment resource management, traffic planning, real estate development and construction, precision manufacturing, defense, energy and much more. Robert Tercek has been designing and building digital twin solutions for a decade. In this session, he will acquaint the audience with the state of the art.
DECOLONIZE THE METAVERSE!
Tercek’s closing keynote was called “amazing” by the host of the USC Entertainment Technology Center summit. In the race to the Metaverse, Tercek explains, today’s Internet giants seem to be hellbent on repeating the worst of the colonial era. This talk exposes the striking parallels between colonial conquest and today’s information empires of the mind.
WHAT'S NEXT AFTER WHAT'S NEXT
Rob Tercek’s opening keynote speech at the 10th anniversary edition of DIG South provides the audience with a look back as well as sharp perspectives of the future. Tercek surveys the tech trends that spurred historic levels of growth during the past decade and provides four compelling scenarios that project into the next ten years. As implausible as it may seem today, the big Internet giants are determined to continue growing beyond the current valuations in the $1 to $3 trillion range. This talk reveals where that growth might come from. And it also provides a vivid explanation of the competing forces behind the drive towards decentralization and Web3 that seek to undo the domination of the planetary-scale tech giants.
WILL WE BE CITIZENS OR SUBJECTS OF THE METAVERSE?
Hundreds of companies have announced plans to invest, collectively, billions of dollars to construct virtual worlds known as the Metaverse. Who are these worlds for? Under what terms? What role will be assigned to the people who populate and contribute to these privately-owned worlds? This presentation, from a futurist and expert in dematerialization, applies concepts from decolonial theory to frame a critical perspective of the emerging Metaverse and to raise urgent questions about the rights and roles of those who participate.
THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL MEDIA SERVICES
Robert Tercek talks about the evolution of communication, the rollout of 5G and the state of digital transformation at the AT&T Business Summit.
Robert Tercek's 2024 speaking fees
- United States
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