Résumé
Chris Melissinos
Principal Evangelist, Amazon Web Services
Technology executive with 25 years in video games, media, and cloud. He has led games strategy at Sun Microsystems and game technology evangelism at AWS, helped shape media and entertainment strategy at Verizon, and created the Smithsonian's The Art of Video Games.
Experience
Principal Evangelist, Amazon on AWS Apr 2026 – today
- Links Amazon's most innovative technical implementations with customers worldwide, working with Amazon business units and AWS senior architects.
- Co-hosts The Cloud Report, AWS's flagship news livestream on cloud, AI, and technology.
- AWS Senior Press Certified spokesperson for media, keynotes, and press engagements worldwide.
Principal Evangelist, Video Games and Immersive Technologies Mar 2023 – Apr 2026
- AWS's principal link to the global video game and immersive technology industries across AWS Game Tech.
- Member of the cross-Amazon leadership team for games strategy, spanning AWS Game Tech, Twitch, Amazon Game Studios, Alexa Games, Amazon Luna, and Prime Gaming.
- Drove CxO engagement with top-tier customers and partners, generating 40+ new opportunities.
- Built 6 new media programs and 300+ pieces of original content, including livestreams, partner interviews, workshops, and podcasts.
- Owned go-to-market strategy and messaging for Amazon GameLift Streams.
Worldwide Strategy and Business Development, Open 3D Engine (O3DE) Dec 2021 – Mar 2023
- Shaped global strategy for O3DE, an open source game engine, enlisting partners and building the feature roadmap.
- Drove adoption by AAA studios, independent developers, and non-gaming customers.
Worldwide Game Technology Integration Lead Aug 2020 – Dec 2021
- Built the strategy for partnering with 34 game development tool providers, integrating them with core AWS services.
- Formed and led the first AWS Game Tech Customer Advisory Board with major publishers and tool providers.
Director, 5G Disruption Team, Future Technology and Applications Sep 2019 – Aug 2020
- Led the future technology practice in Verizon's Corporate Strategy organization, finding opportunities beyond core markets on a 5 to 10 year horizon.
- Built the business case for 8 new opportunity areas; 2 were funded during his tenure and 3 more afterwards.
- Deployed mmWave 5G infrastructure at Newlab, a New York City incubator.
Executive Director, Interactive Entertainment, Verizon Media Feb 2018 – Sep 2019
- Shaped strategy for a next-generation interactive entertainment platform addressing a 160M+ customer base.
- Led a team of game industry professionals and developers that built a working MVP combining several forms of media.
Director, Corporate Strategy, Media and Entertainment Jul 2013 – Feb 2018
- Core team member behind Verizon's long-term media and entertainment strategy: OTT video, ad tech, and interactive entertainment.
- Identified market opportunities that informed $5B+ in acquisitions, including Intel Media, Fleetmatics, and AOL.
- Owned Board of Directors reporting for the media and entertainment segment.
Co-founder Nov 2012 – Jul 2013
- Co-founded an early-stage startup building a social platform around shared TV and online video viewing.
- Co-inventor of US Patent 9,197,911, interactive experiences generated from content metadata (granted November 24, 2015).
Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications Jan 2011 – Sep 2012
- Directed global brand management, messaging, advertising, press and analyst relations, trade events, and digital properties.
Chief Evangelist and Chief Gaming Officer 2008 – 2010
- Represented Sun internally and externally as its corporate technology and platform evangelist while continuing as Chief Gaming Officer.
Chief Gaming Officer 2001 – 2008
- Led corporate strategy, technology development, brand, community, and business development for video games, electronic entertainment, and mobile media.
- Founded JavaGaming.org and was a driving force behind Project Darkstar, Sun's online game server technology.
Industry leadership
Creator and Guest Curator, The Art of Video Games, Smithsonian American Art Museum 2009 – 2012
- Commissioned in 2009 to create the museum's exhibition on 40 years of video games as an artistic medium; built the narrative, assets, and advisory group and oversaw production of a 6,000 sq ft installation.
- Selected a 240-game ballot; more than 3.7 million votes from 119,000 people in 175 countries chose the 80 featured games.
- More than 26,000 visitors on opening weekend and 690,000 during the six-month run (curator records); 2.4M+ visitors across the 11-museum national tour through 2016.
- Co-author of the companion book, The Art of Video Games: From Pac-Man to Mass Effect (Welcome Books, 2012).
Founding Board Member, Video Game History Foundation 2017 – today
- Nonprofit dedicated to cataloging, digitizing, and preserving the history of video games.
Founder, PastPixels, LLC 2010 – 2015
- Founded to produce The Art of Video Games and its national tour, with a focus on the long-term preservation of video games and related ephemera.
Memberships and advisory roles
- Voting member, BAFTA.
- Advisory boards, Women in Games International and GDC Community Clubhouse.
Awards and patents
- Ambassador Award, 13th Game Developers Choice Awards, March 27, 2013.
- US Patent 9,197,911, Method and apparatus for providing interaction packages to users based on metadata associated with content. Co-inventor.
Education
- BS, Public Administration, George Mason University