Los Angeles-based Mandt VR — a start-up virtual reality production company, founded by TV producer Neil Mandt — has added to its executive team, filing chief strategy officer and general manager of news positions.
VR industry vet Chadwick Turner, founder and chief creative officer of Circle VR, will serve as chief strategy officer. Turner has consulted with Amazon.com, Mattel, and Riot Games, and has also served as head of content partnerships for Vrideo, a cross-platform, 360-degree video distributor.
George Sells comes to Mandt VR with nearly 25 years of journalism experience, serving as a broadcaster in Baton Rouge, Louisville, Ken., St. Louis and Long Island, N.Y.
“Up to this point, the storytelling power of virtual reality has been largely untapped; but with recent estimates citing VR hardware might crack $50 billion by 2021, the time to develop high-caliber VR content is now,” Mandt said in a statement. “Consumers might admire VR hardware and acknowledge technological advances, but without compelling content and interesting stories to engage with, even the coolest headset is useless.
“Mandt VR’s raison d’etre is producing Hollywood-quality, serialized VR experiences, and with Chadwick and George guiding these efforts, we’re primed to change the manner in which we interact with and understand the world around us.”
