Earlier this year, the tech world was rocked by the exit of Shingy. Yes, the rumors were true: Shingy was leaving AOL. Shingy (a play on his legal name, David Shing) made headlines in 2014 when he appeared on TV, touted as AOL’s “Digital Prophet.”

Advertising Week caught up with Shingy to ask his advice to those who are looking to work in the marketing, brand and technology spaces. He has much to reflect upon in this video discussion.

As it’s the week of what was supposed the Cannes Lions, this week’s podcast is with David Shing (more commonly known as “Shingy”), who one of the festival’s iconic faces and someone who has graced the main stage at the Palais more than most.

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Up until last year, Shingy worked advertising industry and worked with AOL and then Verizon Media as their digital prophet. Shingy is part-marketer and part-futurist, and is now working independently with a number of clients. In this episode he joins Vincent Flood, Editor-in-Chief of Video Ad News, to discuss the predictions he got right and wrong, how he came to become a digital prophet, the Tim Armstrong years at AOL, the state of video and TV advertising, AR and VR, and of course what the future holds…

'Futurist' was one of the media industry's most recognizable figures. It's what many would deem the end of an era, David Shing, better known as “Shingy” or “the digital prophet” of Verizon Media, has left the company after a more than 10-year run that saw him become one of the most recognized faces in the industry.

“After over a decade of enjoying the work I have done within AOL and Verizon Media, I have decided it is time to explore a new path,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “When I started in this business, I was a consultant running media and marketing for AOL Europe and ended up being an intrapreneur within Verizon Media—becoming the digital prophet, inspiring audiences, educating brands and agencies and providing a unique perspective on what this industry needs to advance forward.”

Self-anointed digital prophet David Shing – aka Shingy – has departed his role at Verizon Media. The Australian marketing veteran joined AOL in 2007 as a marketing director and has been with the company through its transformations into Oath and Verizon Media.

Shingy, né David Shingy, has relinquished his role as digital prophet of AOL and Verizon Media, after 12 years with the company. The anime-maned futurist announced the departure in a LinkedIn note. “I have decided it’s time to explore a new path.” Shingy wrote in the letter.

In the 11th episode of Asking Out Loud with the New School, David Shing, Verizon Media’s digital prophet, talks about how the social media and digital landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift.

David Shing’s career story is a perfect example. Originally hired to lead AOL’s marketing efforts in Europe, Shing maneuvered into the self-created role of “digital prophet” in 2011. It was a move sparked by his outspokenness: then-CEO Tim Armstrong was looking to change the company’s lengthy mission statement and had asked employees to weigh in. Shing told him AOL’s vision at the time “stunk,” and because of that, he was asked to take part in formulating a new one. He also began speaking on panels, presenting at conferences and developing a forward-thinking perspective that began to ripple across AOL and the industry.