Bio: Paul Hynek has decades of successful experience in finance, technology, and entertainment.

Paul is a Wharton MBA, an Adjunct Professor of Finance and Accounting at Pepperdine University, and the creator of startup financial projections software that has raised over $1 billion for thousands and startups. He has significant executive, software, and high tech experience in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Paul works with numerous startups as either a Board member, advisor, or part-time CFO.

Paul was involved in the making of Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes, Tintin, Real Steel, Warcraft, The Hobbit, Halo, Call of Duty, and numerous other movies and games. Paul led the successful acquisition of Giant Studios’ ownership of its renowned virtual production motion capture software, and was instrumental in Giant’s sale to James Cameron for Avatar 2-5. Paul is a consultant on HISTORY’s new hit show “Project Blue Book” and was the Technology Consultant on “Mayne vs. Shark” which will be Discovery Channel’s big Shark Week special in August, 2019.

He conceived and produced Surf Monkey, the world’s first children’s online service, and introduced it with Bill Gates at the launch event for Microsoft Internet Explorer 4. Paul was instrumental in raising over $30,000,000, and positioning it for an IPO. As Director of Business Development at Bandai Digital Entertainment, he produced the first online service for a set- top box, managing this multi-million dollar project with custom browser, chat, and e-mail, including relationships with over 100 developers. Paul currently works with the leading virtual and augmented reality companies, in both content creation and distribution.

He is now active in cryptocurrency and Blockchain, advising several companies in the space.

Paul is a sought-after speaker, having emceed, keynoted, moderated, and spoken at South by Southwest, Wharton / Penn, Harvard, Mensa, Raw Science, BIL, Brink, and numerous technology and startup conferences and events.

He has significant Board experience, serving on several corporate Boards and Advisory Boards, and has 15 years of non-profit Board experience, nine years as Chair. Paul is a grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation, and leads the Technology Committee of the $100 million dollar effort to revitalize Pershing Square, the oldest public space in Los Angeles. He has lived in Asia and Europe, is fluent in French, capable in Japanese, and speaks some Mandarin, Thai, Portuguese, and Spanish. He authored a paper entitled “The Hyper- Commons: How Open Science Prizes Can Expand and Level the Medical Research Playing Field” that was published in Rejuvenation Research. Paul is one of 12 people in the world to regrow his thymus gland in the first FDA approved procedure for life extension under the aegis of the Stanford Neuroscience Institute.

Paul has a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School of Business, a Master of Arts in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Joseph H. Lauder Institute, and a BA in French from the University of Illinois. Paul’s highly-rated course at Pepperdine uses a curriculum he developed that combines elements of accounting, finance, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and negotiations, and also features diverse guest speakers, real world experience, and great food.

Lecture: History’s Project Blue Book and the Real Hynek Family

Conference Emcee, Alejandro Rojas, will interview Paul about his thoughts on the first season of the History Channel series Project Blue Book, which featured his father Dr. J. Allen Hynek. The show also featured Paul’s mother, Mimi. We will find out what the Hynek’s family life was really like, Paul’s insights into his father’s work, and his thoughts on the future of research into the UFO phenomenon. We will also be taking questions from the audience.