Cathy Hackl is a globally recognized metaverse executive, luxury and fashion innovator, and tech futurist that has worked with Ralph Lauren, Clinique, HTC VIVE, Magic Leap, and AWS. She leads Journey's Metaverse Studio helping brands with metaverse/Web3 strategies, NFTs, gaming, and virtual couture. Her team created Walmart Land and Universe of Play for Walmart in Roblox, and she produced Electric Fest, a virtual concert in Walmart Land. She styled Kane Brown, Madison Beer, and Yungblud in virtual couture looks for the festival. In 2023, Hackl will be launching several luxury web3 connected fashion collections and will dive deeper into virtual fashion. She was hand-picked by Vogue Business editors to be included in their inaugural Vogue Business 100 Innovators List. Hackl has been writing about the Metaverse and the Direct to Avatar trend since 2020. She was the chairwoman of the inaugural Metaverse Fashion Week and her new book, “Into The Metaverse: The Essential Guide to the Business Opportunities of the Web3 Era” will be available in early 2023. Hackl has been dubbed the “Godmother of the Metaverse,” and is the host of Adweek's Metaverse Marketing podcast.