PETER FINGAR
1946 - 2021

COGNITIVE WORLD’s co-founder and Editor-in-Chief Peter Fingar has passed on August 4, 2021. He will be dearly missed by many, for endless reasons.

For those of you that have experienced the Fingar, you well know Peter was authentic, brilliant, curious, optimistic, and above all — fun. I’m a better person having had him in my life since 2008. I, am Lisa Wood, his co-founder here.

Cognitive World began to come together in 2016. Whenever we talked, sure, we’d cover the business bit, but it was the fun stuff that grabbed ahold of each conversation. He had an uplifting, energizing spunkiness with that penetrating punch of brilliance only Peter could deliver.

One day back in 2009 or so Peter and my husband Lars were talking and the next thing I know Lars is creating the avatar you see here (the only one he ever created ~ it was for fun, for Peter). I’m sure some of you are familiar with this version of Peter. We’re thrilled he used it so crazy much over the years for keynotes and at times, in lieu of his presence at an event.

I’m grateful that although I didn’t know it would be my last time talking with him, about a week before his passing, I capped off that fun and fairly deep discussion with an “I love you Peter”.. he returned the warmth.. and that makes me feel good.

Peter’s going to have to oversee CogWorld’s progress from afar. For those of you fortunate enough to have experienced the Fingar, just imagine what he'd be saying right now about the state of.. everything. Most certainly he’d be telling you what it’s all about!

Tributes to Peter Fingar
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Our think tank members have a few things to say about Peter:

Peter was a rare soul who loved to tackle hard problems and turn them inside out to understand them from every perspective. He was very patient with my many and often naive questions and went with me on intellectual walks in forests of ideas. I will miss him greatly but treasure our shared moments. — Vint Cerf, PhD

Peter was one of the most energetic, full of life and ideas people I have ever known. — Tom Davenport, PhD

Peter was an outstanding thinker and engaging writer – will be sadly missed. — Alan Trefler

While Neil Young’s “only the good die young” might be a bit of an exaggeration, it certainly applies to my friend Peter Fingar. Peter not only liked what Albert Einstein wrote on miracles. He lived it. “There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Peter was a trailblazer in various aspects of information technology, and he was also a kind, warm man with a unique sense of humor. I miss him already and expect to miss him even more deeply as time passes. — Andrew Spanyi

Peter pushed me hard to write my first book. He was an inspiring coach and friend. I will miss him and continue to channel his humor and energy when I mentor and coach others. I'm so sorry to hear of this loss. — Phaedra Boinodiris

Peter was a true visionary in the digital world. His impact on BPM, AI, and business practices themselves will not be forgotten. Peter always had a boatload of interesting stories that you heard over and over, but you never cared because of the way he spun them. His practice of catching you off guard so he could teach you something he thought was new and exciting was a true gift. I had many good laughs with Peter. He was a truly charming guy and I will miss him. The world will never be the same without him. — Jim Sinur

Peter’s passing is a tough one. The things he and Howard Smith did a couple decades ago changed my perspective and guided my career. — Dan Conway, PhD

Peter was a very kind, generous and down-to-earth individual with a highly inquisitive mind, backed up by intellect. Moreover, he was a “connectionist” who saw patterns and drew inferences (and predictions) from them, that few others could. In short, my kind of person :). -- Richard Welke, PhD

I am deeply saddened by the news of Peter’s passing. I have had the privilege of knowing Peter for almost two decades. He had a big heart and had an incredible gift for identifying important market and technology trends way ahead of time, and articulating its value for both business and society. He will be missed greatly. — Manoj Saxena

Peter was way ahead of his time. He was always the first to find some new technology or set of ideas that would be impactful. So sorry to hear the news. — Bruce Richardson

RIP Peter - a unique and talented man who did so much for the industry. — Setrag Khoshafian, PhD

“So sorry to hear about Peter's passing. Enjoyed our interactions. Godspeed to his family.” — Mark Montgomery

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