Al Meyers is the founder and official licensee of TEDxPeachtree, whose inaugural event was held on 12/4/2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. TEDxPeachtree seeks to develop and share the TED experience on a regional level by bringing together inspirational leaders, innovators, artists and entertainers in metropolitan Atlanta. The TEDxPeachtree team is comprised of an all volunteer team of individuals hailing from an eclectic mix of professions, all who believe in TED's mission of "ideas worth spreading."
Meyers is also the Founder & Chairman of the Board of the Atlanta Music Project, the first music program in Atlanta inspired by the globally acclaimed Venezuelan social reform program, El Sistema, which is "music as an instrument of social change."
Al is also a part-time consultant with Georgia Film Credit Consultants, which was created to facilitate, broker and fast track the sale of film tax credits earned through the 2008 Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act (GA HB1100). The GFCC team had a direct hand in the design, composition and execution of the new Georgia incentive law and Georgia’s Department of Economic Development Year 2020 Business Plan.
Previously, Al was President of Saisei Consulting, a provider of strategy and corporate development advisory services to early-stage, growth-stage and mature digital media companies around the world. Al has advised several startups in the areas of digital media, 3D technology, online games and games for K-12 education.
Al is also a sought-after speaker on such topics as disruptive innovation in education, and the role of online games outside of the "purely entertainment" arena.
Meyers was Co-founder & CEO of Past4Ward, LLC, an Atlanta-based startup focused on developing an immersive learning platform for classroom education based primarily on online game-play. The Company’s mission was to improve education in schools, with a new technology that allowed students to play games and learn at the same time. Learning through video game-like environments is an ideal learning tool for today's digitally-oriented children, who learn and think differently than previous generations. The company’s emphasis was on student-centered learning tools using game mechanics and other web 2.0 features. The Company’s approach, backed by academically rigorous research and data, showed unequivocally how using games in classroom instruction could lead to successful 21st century learning outcomes.
“The time has come for America to again lead the way in education during the 21st century, ensuring that our children, and children all over the world, have the requisite skills needed to become successful contributors to a digitally-driven work environment.”- Al Meyers
In February 2009, Meyers unveiled his vision for 21st century learning during the highly regarded and virally popular conference “TED@PalmSprings”. The video is shown below. Al was chosen to be one of twelve distinguished speakers invited to present at the TEDDIY session. To read more, go to: http://blog.ted.com/2009/02/friday_mornings.php
Previously, Meyers accumulated more than 18 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry with several Fortune 100 companies. Meyers served as Vice President of Strategic Planning at Turner Broadcasting where he was a founding member of GameTap, and facilitated the sale of GameTap to a French company in 2008. Meyers spent nearly 13 years at the company (1995-2008), and spent considerable time on M&A transactions and strategy development for Turner (and across Time Warner) and its portfolio of businesses, with an emphasis on Cartoon Network.
In helping lead the video game strategy at Turner Broadcasting, Meyers spent a great deal of time working in Asia with online game publishers and developers, and became deeply immersed in the video game industry. As a strategist at Turner, Meyers was one of a team of senior executives that were responsible for identifying, evaluating and developing strategic business opportunities related to existing businesses and proposed ventures across the company’s domestic and international entertainment, animation, news and sports portfolio.
Prior to his career at Turner Broadcasting, Meyers worked as a Senior Financial Analyst at the New York offices of News Corporation from 1994-1995. A CPA by training, he also worked in the Media & Entertainment audit practice at Ernst & Young, as a Senior Auditor from 1991-1994.
Al Meyers received his Bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and his Masters in Business Administration from the Leonard Stern School of Business at New York University. He is proficient in both the Japanese and Spanish languages.
Meyers is also a member of the Technology Association of Georgia, the University of Pennsylvania Secondary School Committee, and TED. Al is a frequent lecturer in academia on innovation theory and advanced learning technologies.
Al Meyers is currently collaborating on a book with clinical psychologist Reid Daitzman about how cyberspace behavior has impacted the lives of young consumers around the world. The subject of this book is how smart objects affect everyday life and how technology has permeated into the daily lives of global consumers. The book, with an unreleased title as of yet, is expected to be completed in late 2011.
