The End of an Era

Written: 19/12/2022 | Updated: N/A

To everyone who has been involved in Teams Nation and Metaverse One over the years,

I would like to take the time to let you know that I have made the decision today to step down as an organiser and principal of Metaverse One. Metaverse One is the first 100% free, 100% community driven online conference dedicated to the Microsoft Metaverse, Mixed Reality, MR technologies, and extensibility options.

Having launched the conference with MVP Vesa Nopanen, Metaverse One achieved an attendance of over 600 at its inaugural event back in September 2022, an average session rating of 4.6/5 and an NPS of 80%. These are amazing metrics for a first run especially after going out on a high with Teams Nation. With Teams Nation we held 5 conferences over the period 2019 – 2022 and in our final conference (March 2022) we had over 3000 attendees, 5000 registrants, 140 sessions and averaged a 4.81/5 session average, 4.75 conference average and an NPS of 87%.

It’s been an incredible journey. With so many incredible people. I will always be grateful that people said that our events were ones that they cared about.

Naturally, some may ask why I have decided to step down and hand over the reins. Over the course of the last few conferences, I have increasingly felt it the right time to do so, so that others have the opportunity.to lead and imprint their ideas on the events. There are many other things I would like to lean into and explore in 2023. Some of that involves other opportunities within the Microsoft Tech Community. Some of that is about making more time for my family. I’ve good news to share soon.

So, I would like to wish the awesome Metaverse One organizing team – Vesku Nopanen, Adam Deltinger, Chris Webb, Matti Paukkonen, Paul Dredge and Sharon Sumner, and all the future moderators and speakers the very best on this new journey. With momentum heading into a second conference in 2023, I look forward to watching it grow, and succeed in the same manner Teams Nation did.

I would also like to take an opportunity to say a special thanks to all the people I have worked with over the last few years, including these fellow professionals:

Laurie Pottmeyer, Allie Thompson, Karuana Gatimu, Pouneh Kaufmann, Dona Sarkar, Anna Chu, Vesa Juvonen, Mark Kashman, Jeff Teper, Ilya Bukshytyn, Mike Tholfsen, Anne Michaels, Rish Tandon, Bob German, James Skay, John Gruszczyk, Erica Toelle, Joanne Klein, Martina Grom, Toni Pohl, Dux Raymond Sy, Estelle Auberix, Michael Plettner, Peter Rising, Al Eardley, Gorana Konevska Jankoska, Thomas Stensitski, Chirag Patel, Sara Fennah, Kev McDonnell, David Riberot, Juan Carlos Gonzalez Martin, Patrick Guimonet, Raphael and Jennifer Kollner, Lalit Mohan, Loryan and Megan Strant, Lisa Crosbie, Karoliina Kettukari, Amanda Sterner, Mark Vale, Randy Chapman, Habib Mankal, Dino Caputo, Curtis Armstrong, Michael LaMontagne, Tom Arbuthnot, Tom Morgan, Kazeem Adegboyega, Anj Cerbolles, Sara Barbosa, Reza Dorrani, Rick Van Rousselt, Laurent Carlier, Nicole Enders, Ivana Tilca, Fabio Franzini, Marco Rocca, Eickhel Mendoza, Maria Del Mar Llambi, Ragnar Heil, Hans Brender, Magnus Goksoyr, Robert Mulsow, Matt Wade, Jay Leask, Nanddeep Nachan, Smita Nachan, Satish Upadhaya, Steve Goodman, Jay Wynn, John Moore, Darrell Webster, Michael Bouman, Patrick Kohler, Alex Eggers, Nicki Borell, Thorsten Pickhan, Antje Lamartine, Andreas Schluter, Alexis Conia, Stale Hansen, Merethe Stave, Marten Hellebro, Alexander Holmeset, Liz Sundet, Tacy Van Der Schyff, David Warner, Hugo Bernier, April Dunnum, Erica Toelle, Graham Walsh, Jimmy Vaughan, Joel Oleson, Andreas Esben, Joy Apple, Hilton Giesenow, Eric Marsi, Thijs Lecomte, Galen Keene, Ryan Schoulten, Mark Hayes, Carmen Ysewijn, Yannic Reekmans, May Al Hajri, Chris Huntingford, Daniel Laskowitz, Edyta Gorzon, Johan Delimon, Ru Campbell, Ana Ines Urrutia, Lee Ford, Ville Gullstrand, Sue Hanley, Daneil Christian, Mohammed Derhalli, Serge Luca, Isabelle Van Campenhoudt, Leon Armston, Sebastien Paulet, Hadrian Nessim Socard, Theophile Chin-Nin, Chloe Moreau, Amelie Plockyn, May Lynn Lien, Kevin Trelohan, Thomy Goelles, Johan Delimon, Lesley Crook, Knut Relbe Moe, Nestori Synimaa, Thijs Lecomte, Dennie Declerq, Jonah Andersson, Fabrizio Volpe, Paul Bloem, Jukka Niraanen, Joao Ferreira, Mar Pedroche, Brian Ricks, Sharon Weaver, Sergey Chubarov, Mel Hubbard, Toni Grannell, David Abu, Jeff Angama, Stephen Siciliano, Greg Baribault, Sandhya Rao, Holly Lehman, Isidora Katanic, Sarah Gilbert, Bram De Jager, Drew Madelung, Emily Kirby

And for anyone who has been involved in the conferences who I have missed here. Thank you so much for all your time, and passion, and professionalism.

I look forward to seeing you around the community. Have a great Christmas and New Year, and if you have time – have a look at the Metaverse One site at https://metaverse-one.space/. It’ll be a good one next September.

All the very best, Chris