A leading Orlando tech official has been named a top executive for a national consortium of advocates of augmented and virtual reality.
John Cunningham, a longtime Orlando-based tech executive, has been named the chief operating officer for the national Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Association.
Cunningham made the announcement on LinkedIn Tuesday evening, breaking the news at a post-event party for MetaCenter Global Week’s first official day in Orlando.
“This appointment is as much of a recognition of this community and illustrates how we can be a leader across the world in VR and AR,” said Cunningham, who most recently led Unity’s Florida-based operations and efforts.
Across the VRARA, Central Florida’s chapter has been one of the more active ones.
The region has long been known as one of the more cutting edge areas in several industries that implement VR, including gaming, defense and others.
MetaCenter Global Week has brought together Orlando’s tech community for a weeklong showcase of technology in the region and across the globe.
Cunningham said has enjoyed the event because it gives local companies a chance to network and show off what they do.
“We have a lot of great small companies that have never worked on a global stage,” he said. “We needed this catalyst but we have work to do.”
Moving forward, Cunningham said his goal with the VRARA is to offer other chapters around the globe a pathway to succeed.
“We are just going to keep on building it,” he said. “We want to continue what we have been doing here and grow it because it brings value to the community.”