The metaverse has seen tremendous growth in 2022, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Cathy Hackl. Hackl is co-founder and chief metaverse officer of design firm Journey, where she heads up the company’s metaverse studio. Her role is similar to that of her architect at the Metaverse, building virtual experiences for clients that enable new kinds of consumer engagement.

For example, when Huckle rang a bell on the Nasdaq marketplace to celebrate the launch of Journey’s Metaverse studio, she helped create a virtual bell ringing ceremony to coincide with the actual bell ringing ceremony. This is the first time the Nasdaq has opened a stock market in a metaverse full of game-like graphics and human-like avatars.

Huckle also played a key role in developing some of the biggest virtual experiences of 2022, including Walmart’s dual Roblox experiences “Walmart Land” and “Universe of Play.” She has also published a book on the Metaverse and last March she chaired the first annual Metaverse Fashion Her Week.

Hackl’s vision for a more attractive future begins by leading by example. Journey expanded his virtual office portfolio last year, and now he runs Decentraland, The Sandbox, Roblox, Fortnite Creative, RecRoom, and VRChat.

“If you build, you need a showroom,” says Huckle. “That’s our approach to the metaverse.”