Charles Melcher
Charles Melcher is a creator, curator, and thought leader in the storytelling and technology space, as well as an early-stage investor in media and technology companies. He is the Founder and CEO of Melcher Media and the Founder and Director of Future of Storytelling.
Biography
Early life
Charles Melcher was born on January 19, 1965, and raised in New York City, where he attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. He graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988. He was a two-time Junior Olympic Games|Junior Olympic] Fencing champion, in 1980 and 1981, in épée.Melcher Media
After graduating, Melcher launched Melcher Press, Inc., creating custom print materials for schools such as Dartmouth College, Wesleyan University, and Yale University. In 1993, he renamed the company Melcher Media, Inc., and one of its first jobs was to create a publishing imprint for MTV, MTV Books. Today, the company is a creative content studio that helps authors and companies tell their stories via illustrated books, apps, websites, films, events, and immersive experiences. The company helps international brands, media companies, and individual authors to tell their stories across a variety of media. Melcher Media has over 13 million books in print, including more than 30 New York Times best sellers.Future of Storytelling
In 2012, Melcher founded Future of StoryTelling, a live events and content business focused on cutting-edge developments in storytelling and technology. FoST began as an invitation-only Summit for 300 people that went on to expand to a week-long summit and festival for nearly 6,000 people. The FoST Summit draws a mix of thinkers and practitioners from diverse fields who are shaping storytelling in the twenty-first century. Past FoST Summit speakers, workshop leaders, and performers have included Disney Company|Disney] animator and director Glen Keane; Angela Ahrendts, former SVP of Retail at Apple; filmmaker Darren Aronofsky; choreographer Bill T. Jones; musician and band leader Jon Batiste; Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud; Niantic CEO John Hanke; and GE CMO Linda Boff.Inc. magazine named the FoST Summit one of the “10 most Innovative Conferences of 2016,” Adweek named it among the “7 Emerging Conferences Every Advertising Profession Should Know About.” in 2017, and Forbes named it one of the “5 Most Inspiring Conferences of 2018.”
FoST also produces content throughout the year, including storytelling workshops; curated exhibitions with local and international organizations; a monthly newsletter, “FoST in Thought,” and the bi-weekly FoST Podcast. FoST also developed and teaches a storytelling curriculum and consults on storytelling best practices for companies such as Microsoft, Ford, NBCUniversal, and others.