Mark Avnet

Mark Avnet has over 25 years experience in media, technology, advertising, innovation design, entertainment, marketing, and education, and currently serves as Professor and Head of the Creative Technology track at VCU Brandcenter, the premier graduate program in advertising.

Mark was founding Director of New Media at global production company @radical.media, Executive Producer at Hearst New Media, served as Senior Vice President/Director of Production and Technology at Ammirati’s APL Digital Group, and as Chief Technology Officer at Lot21 Interactive Marketing, where he also established and led a Media IP Development Lab.

He has been faculty at NYU, Marist College, and was Chair of the Communications and Information Design programs at The Sage Colleges. Prior to the advertising and marketing stuff, Mark spent two years raising giant sea slugs at Woods Hole’s Marine Biological Laboratories, and later established and ran a successful recording studio in Los Angeles. Before that, he was bass player in a band, and before that, was the kid who took things apart to see how they worked. Sometimes they went back together with no pieces left over. But there was this one time… well, maybe a few times…

Mark is founder of Converging Arts, and co-founder of The James River Surf Club, consulting companies that focus on the application of creative strategy and technology, innovation, media psychology, and design-oriented thinking to marketing, branding, advertising, and communication. He is also a clinical hypnotherapist, and holds dual national certifications. Mark earned a Masters degree in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU, a Masters in Media Psychology, and is completing a Ph.D. in Media Psychology.