About
Arif Gursel is a creative and technical executive who effortlessly transitions between…
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Arif Gursel posted thisLeaving my M5 mac at home on the charger and completing projects on the go with the Claude code remote control on mobile is the time hack I didn't realize I needed. The concurrent execution across products via multi-modal engagement allows me to be "present" at events and gatherings, while my mind progresses architectures and builds. This has redefined "networking" 🤯
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Arif Gursel posted thisI don’t know about you, but I need the Fable 5 tea. When the gov’t shuts you down in the middle of my code complaining I need answers 🤟🏾 #securethebag
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Arif Gursel shared thisI’m super excited to unveil the advancements in our practice areas that balance agentic execution with decades of human expertise 🤟🏾Arif Gursel shared thisCommunity is the answer. I've been sitting with that thought since returning from the Cre8te Summit in Seattle. We're living through some interesting times. AI is reshaping industries. Companies are changing course. People are trying to figure out what's next. But after a few days surrounded by creators, entrepreneurs, artists, executives, innovators, and dreamers, I'm reminded that community is and always has been the answer. I got a conference bestie in Shima Green, whose presentation had the room leaning in and taking notes. I got to reconnect with LaSean Smith, my mentor, and I got to support 8genC as we brought this vision to life. Anyone who knows Arif Gursel knows he doesn't just build events—he builds ecosystems, opportunities, and communities. You could feel that throughout every part of the experience. Aaaaaaaand I got to return to Seattle. Seattle holds a special place in my heart. I lived there for five years during an important chapter of my life. It's where I gave birth to my son. It's where I experienced some of the wins, challenges, lessons, and growth that come with navigating corporate America while building a life. Coming back felt familiar and new at the same time. I had conversations with people like Tuma Basa and Dee Speed that reminded me how powerful storytelling can be and how much wisdom lives inside lived experience. I had the pleasure of hosting a conversation on ABC: Advertising, Branding & Communications — the Monetization Triangle of the Creator Economy with MeShae' Prophet, Megh Vakharia, J. Rycheal, and Casey Ferrand McGee. Smart people. Real conversation. No fluff. This season as CMO of 8GenC is a great start. Want to work? https://www.8genc.com/ #CRE8TESummit #Seattle #cre8testudio #cre8tesumthin
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Arif Gursel shared thisThree nominations. One community. One mission. A decade ago, we decided against all odds to build something real. In the face of multiple cancer battles and COVID, we persevered. PACE is the vehicle we use to create, launch, and gather our community and power them toward greatness. Whether it's building the next era of entrepreneurship via SEA619, multimedia production at The Union Seattle, or creative economy workforce development via the Cre8te Summit, none of this happens without community and partner support. Thank you to The Seattle Medium for the recognition; voting is open now through June 19th at https://lnkd.in/g9i8fBe5. #getonpaceArif Gursel shared thisWe are proud to share that PACE programs and leadership have received three nominations in The Seattle Medium's Best of the Best Northwest. Voting is now open through June 19th. We are nominated in the following categories: - Best Cultural Center — The Union Seattle - Best Community Event / Festival — Cre8te Summit - Best CEO / Executive Director — Arif Gursel These nominations reflect more than recognition. They reflect years of intentional community building, institutional investment, and a refusal to wait for permission to create the infrastructure our community deserves. The Union Seattle is a cultural & co-working space, a professional multimedia studio, event + performance space, and the home of PACE programs, including SEA619, our incubator and accelerator for Black founders. It is also a living archive of Black Seattle's cultural and civic legacy and the anchor space for programming spanning artist talks, community celebrations, and civic organizing, all rooted in Downtown Seattle. Cre8te Summit launched this year as the Pacific Northwest's first Creative & Creator Economy convening, bringing together creators, entrepreneurs, technologists, and community builders under one roof for two days of programming, connection, and collective vision. The proclamations that followed its inception designated May as Creative & Creator Economy Month in both Seattle and Washington State, affirming what we already knew: THIS WORK MATTERS. Arif Gursel, Founder and Executive Director of PACE, has spent his career at the intersection of technology, culture, and community with a track record spanning Microsoft, Salesforce, Netflix, and YouTube before turning that expertise toward building community infrastructure in Seattle. This nomination recognizes not just leadership but a model of executive vision rooted in community future-making. We invite you to vote in all three categories and share this with your networks at https://lnkd.in/ggg-jrzH. Voting is open NOW through June 19th. Thank you to The Seattle Medium and to every member of this community who has made The Union, Cre8te Summit, and all the work we do possible. #getonPACE
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Arif Gursel shared thisThank you to every speaker, partner, and participant that understood the early vision, and took on the assignment. Producing and managing a conference of this magnitude is no easy feat, and we did it without any outside sponsorship dollars or municipal support. While proclamations don’t equal policy, they are a signal that we are aligned to the strategic direction of our city, state, and the infrastructure and service needs of it’s creative citizens. The Cre8te Summit turn out was amazing, 100’s of creatives & creators, connecting, learning and creating collaborations. As producers we made sure that this vital information was accessible to those who needed and wanted it. As the number of layoffs continue to rise in our area, and the economic landscape remains difficult for many, the information access was the real KPI. We provided over $65K in conference passes (via our ticket grants) for those seeking workforce development, and skill guidance; a metric we are really proud of. As a left/right brain balancing, multi-hyphenate creative executive this was a significant lift. Wearing so many hats truly made me grateful for the small but mighty team at 8genC, and The Union Seattle, as well as our partners over at BRIC Foundation. Power building for community around shared passions is an amazing feeling. Now on to the next phase #Cre8teStudio #8genC #VIBEHEAVYArif Gursel shared thisThank you, Seattle, we did it! Together, we "cre8ted" something very special… Cre8te Summit aimed to bring over 300 people together to connect, learn, and discuss the growth opportunities in the creative and creator economy, and we did just that. The feedback keeps rolling in, and the stories of life-changing impact are exactly the signal we aimed for. Our speakers traveled to Seattle from every corner of the country (NY, ATL, LA) and even as far away as South America to share their expertise with the movers and makers of our region. As a firm headquartered in Seattle and operating in LA and NY, we aim to highlight the creative brilliance right here in our region. With the launch of Cre8te Summit, we delivered on a goal we set on our executive whiteboard since 8genC's launch. As a founding member of the Cre8tive & Cre8tor Economy Alliance (CCEA), we are excited to partner with nonprofits, companies, municipal & community leaders to bring the Cre8te Summit vision to life and usher the opportunities within the creative and creator economy front and center, from entrepreneurship, to workforce development, and policy-making in our state. Cre8te Summit was a 25,000 sq ft footprint with numerous creative activations, live podcast-style fireside chats, partner panels, and lightning talks from over 70 speakers. Learning was front and center with focused workshops that taught attendees how to operate across music, film, and fashion ecosystems. The entire event took place across 3 floors of the #Tower1201 building in the heart of downtown Seattle over two days. We are proud to be the anchoring producer of the Cre8te Summit, and look forward to next year's convening. If your company or organization operates in the creative or creator economy, we would love to have you on this journey to build something special here in Seattle. #creativeagency #creativeeconomy #creatoreconomy #CCEA
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Arif Gursel shared thisIf you missed the Cre8te Summit earlier this month, you still have an opportunity to connect with Seattle's creative & creator community next week at The Union Seattle's monthly open house, known as the Cre8tor House. Cre8tor House is a monthly networking and social club for Seattle movers and makers. Each month, we highlight people building solutions in Seattle's creative economy. Space is limited; grab a spot. #cre8torhouse #cre8tesummit #cre8testudio #cre8tesumthin #creativeeconomy #creatoreconomyThe Cre8tor House - June Edition | 1st Fridays @ The Union · LumaThe Cre8tor House - June Edition | 1st Fridays @ The Union · Luma
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Arif Gursel shared thisIt was amazing to see our creative and creator communities come together and to have all the amazing organizations advancing the lives of creatives in one space. From unions to nonprofits, creative collectives to multidisciplinary creative firms, makers to venture backed startups building solutions in the creator economy, the energy was electric. I’m proud to be the chair of the BRIC Foundation’s apprenticeship committee and the work we are doing collectively to advance workforce development in our state in partnership with 8genC & The Union Seattle. As part of a new 501(c)(4) initiative known as the Cre8tive & Cre8tor Economy Alliance (CCEA) , we are continuing to expand our alliance through strategic partnerships within the public, private, and nonprofit sectors for mission and values aligned organizations working for the changes in policy that lifts from the most impacted. Thank you to the BRIC team, specifically Nicole Hendrix & Darlene Marie Mortel Edouard, PhD for understanding the mission, aligning to the assignment, and partnering with me to curate an amazing partner row as part of the overall experience. The Cre8te Summit was our launch 🚀, but there is so much more loading, stay tuned… #weliftasweriseArif Gursel shared thisLast week at Cre8te Summit '26, we were proud to host the first-ever BRIC Community Corner bringing together an incredible ecosystem of creative and creator economy partners for 2 days of conversation, collaboration, learning, and connection. From industry panels and think tanks to portfolio reviews and networking, the space reflected the power of community in building a stronger creative future. Huge thanks to Cre8te Summit and to all of our amazing partners who participated in the BRIC Community Corner and helped make the experience so impactful!
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Arif Gursel shared thisYou have been an amazing Director and Photographer for years. The campaigns you create are jaw dropping. I’m so happy to have you joining 8genC and traveling all the way from South America to speak at the inaugural Cre8te Summit. I’m excited for the projects we are about to undertake together. #8genC #CreativeEconomy #Change8gents #Cre8teSumthinArif Gursel shared thisThree weeks ago, I was seated at the top of a volcano, ready to slide down on a slim wooden board. Volcano Boarding. ever heard of it? Me neither! A friend that I’d met while backpacking around Nicaragua encouraged me to give it a try. Hiking up to the summit, I was terrified. I did it scared, but I did it! Not long after I reached the bottom, and rejoiced in my newfound courage did I received a call from Arif Gursel. “Would you like to be a featured speaker at our inaugural Cre8te Summit in Seattle?” I’m not gonna lie, Imposter Syndrome set in like a muhh! I had done panels before, even moderated a few, but had never held my own speaking in front of a crowd for 30+ minutes. But much like volcano boarding, I said, “I’ll do it scared, but I’m gonna do it!” I arrived in Seattle with a deck and some talking points. Then Arif put me on as the last talk on the last day. I complained. “No one is gonna come, everyone will be gone by then or upstairs getting ready for the happy hour festivities.” How wrong was I! I’d spent both days attending talks, making friends, and building community, so when it came time for my talk, it was a packed house! Standing room only, folks seated in chairs, the floor, wherever they could fit. And guess what? I wasn’t nervous! Every time my eyes settled on someone in the crowd, it was a familiar face smiling back at me, nodding in encouragement. 😊 That’s the most beautiful takeaway of this summit. Yes, the panels and talks were insightful, but this wasn’t a summit that you attend to network, it was a place to build community. And family! We spent less time talking shop than we did connecting over culture, joy, laughter, and curiosity. I say all this to say, I’m so glad that I stepped outside of my comfort zone. Cre8te Summit, I’ll be there next year. And to my newfound friends and fam, I’m definitely gonna see y’all way before then! In love and community, Shima 💛
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Arif Gursel reposted thisArif Gursel reposted thisIt was great connecting with my homie Hill Harper. We go waaaaaaaaaaaay back from my directing days. We caught up on a panel about the future of film and the future of storytelling across digital platforms. The conversation went deep into representation and responsibility. I shared how Black boys need to be centered on screen and in animation with full humanity and complexity. It’s a gift to move between academic and creative mode and to do it in great company. That’s where the real work happens. Always remember. They have scale. We got the culture. We Up.
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6d
This is an awesome problem to solve. Thank you 🤞🏾
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1w
First off, it’s way more than two dollars at this point. Secondly, if you want it come earn it on the golf course. But the odds are not in your favor my dear friend 🤟🏾
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Arif Gursel liked thisArif Gursel liked thisPlaying around with gemma4:12b (local AI model). Legit. Fast. Multi-modal. And can do simple agentic loops. Perception capabilities are quite good. Very impressive. At least 32GB of RAM on an M-Series Mac or a Windows machine with a 16GB+ VRAM GPU recommended. macOS terminal-based install instructions if you want to play with it... # Install Ollama curl -fsSL https://lnkd.in/gfC6pcKQ | sh # Install Gemma 4:12B ollama pull gemma4:12b ollama run gemma4:12b Open the Ollama GUI and chat or run from the command line. Connect with to your agent harness with this mapping: export OPENAI_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434/v1 export OPENAI_API_KEY=ollama export OPENAI_MODEL=gemma4:12b Add LiteLLM if you want a gateway to manage multiple local LLMs. That's it.
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Arif Gursel liked thisGreat video Marie Haynes.Arif Gursel liked thisGoogle's new Open Knowledge Format opens up so many possibilities (and opportunites)! It is a standardized format for storing your knowledge in a way that agents can easily use. Instead of giving agents ALL of your knowledge to stuff into its context window, you give agents a map so they can find specifically what they need. I've shared some examples in my latest blog post and video: https://lnkd.in/g3juf_-i Here's the video on YT if you just want to jump there: https://lnkd.in/gEer9DRTGoogle's OKF - The New Way to Structure Your Knowledge for AgentsGoogle's OKF - The New Way to Structure Your Knowledge for Agents
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Arif Gursel reacted on thisEnterprises are ready to put AI agents to work - but not at the cost of control. An autonomous agent that can read systems, call tools, move data, or change configuration is, from a security standpoint, a new kind of identity: fast, prolific, and capable of acting without a human watching every step. So the question every security leader is now asking is a simple one: how do we say yes to agent autonomy without giving up governance? So here at Oleria, we built a thing 🤩. Introducing Maestro: a governed agentic operating system running autonomous AI agents under continuous identity, authorization, isolation, and human-in-the-loop control - with a complete, attributable record of every action and the reasoning behind it. Zero Trust for AI agents so they can't go off the rails. Come see us at Identiverse — Booth 539: https://lnkd.in/gYNsUVCB Full announcement: https://lnkd.in/g59dukzwArif Gursel reacted on thisToday we're introducing Maestro: Zero Trust identity security for AI agents. Enterprises want to put autonomous agents to work, but not at the cost of control. An agent that reads systems, calls tools, and moves data is a new kind of identity. Fast, prolific, and acting without a human watching every step. The industry treats governance and security as two problems solved by two tools. For AI agents, that separation breaks. You can't govern what you can't attribute, and you can't secure what you can't govern. Maestro delivers the customer's side of the shared responsibility model as one platform: 🔹 Context. Trustfusion supplies the identity graph: who the agent acts for and what it should touch. 🔹 Platform. Trustguardian gives every agent a governed, cryptographic identity. 🔹 Runtime. Maestro authorizes every action as it happens, contains compromise, and records not just what happened but why. The provider secures the model. The enterprise secures everything the agent runs inside. Maestro is how you hold your side of that line. Read the announcement: https://lnkd.in/gp35C38F See it live at Identiverse, June 15-18, Booth 539. Reserve a briefing: https://lnkd.in/gr3eAV2r #IdentitySecurity #AIAgents #ZeroTrust #Identiverse2026
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UnCap Ventures
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PAR Springer-Miller
See projectISVs Cloud Solution Helps Cut Costs, Transform Business in the Global Hospitality Industry.
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Windows-Azure/PAR-Springer-Miller/ISVs-Cloud-Solution-Helps-Cut-Costs-Transform-Business-in-the-Global-Hospitality-Industry/710000000999 -
AMP Alliance
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An online community of professional audio developers and manufacturers seeking to improve how their products and services interact with the Windows platform. This was part of a larger initiative at Microsoft to better position how the PC was perceived as a tool of digital content creation, a workflow that has largely been associated with the Mac platform.
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