Chief Executive Officer: Dr. Vivian “V” Kaine

Snapshot

Employer: Aether Materials Dynamics, CEO
Role: Main Antagonist
Bio

Dr. Vivian Kaine is the Face and driving force behind Aether Materials Dynamics. She embodies the “Exec” Role, using her intellectual acumen and ruthless management style to secure AMD’s foothold in the Night City market.
Corporate History: V Kaine spent years moving up the tiers of a prior, smaller corporate entity, developing expertise in materials science and logistical control. She learned that in the corporate world, there are people beneath you who would kill for your job, and those above you who would kill to keep you out of theirs—literally. She launched AMD to avoid the terminal stagnation faced by many designers working within established worlds.
The Exec Role: As an Exec, her primary Role Ability is Teamwork. She uses this to surround herself with skilled employees, including team members who may have overt jobs (like secretary or driver) and covert roles (such as a Netrunner, bodyguard, or assassin). Last week, V likely tasked her team with a headhunting run to “extract” a rival researcher or sabotage a competitor’s database.
Housing and Perks: As an executive, Dr. Kaine enjoys significant employment benefits, including free Corporate housing (a Corporate Conapt) as long as she remains with AMD. This conapt likely places her in a secure, upscale area of the city, such as the Executive Zone or a Corporate Terrace like the Ziggurat’s “The Hanging Garden” (C9) in the Upper Marina. Her living situation is a Good Prepak Lifestyle, paid for by the corporation.
The Corporate “Face”: Dr. Kaine is the mandated “Face” for AMD. This means she is the single largest stockholder and is personally responsible for any crimes or illegal activities committed by the corporation. This arrangement forces her to ensure that whatever trouble AMD gets into “isn’t connected directly to the management of the Corporation”.
Aspiration: V Kaine’s ultimate goal is to cement AMD as a permanent major player, eventually expanding beyond Night City, and becoming one of the new Megacorps that rise from the post-War environment. She operates with the ethos that “If you want to make it in the Neocorporate world you have to remember the number one rule: STAY HUNGRY”.

Agenda

Corporate Domination and Hostile Takeovers

Dr. Kaine’s primary ambition is to elevate AMD from a Neocorp to one of the new Megacorps that rises from the post-War environment. The virus offers an unparalleled tool for achieving market dominance through covert manipulation and elimination of rivals:

Cyber virus: Dr. Kaine has recently discovered rumors of a pre war computer virus capable of remote controlling anyone with cyberware installed. She knows that the virus is in Night City but does not know the exact location.
Eliminating Competition Covertly: If Dr. Kaine can control key figures in rival corporations—especially those heavily reliant on cyberware (a widespread commodity in Night City)—she can compel them to sabotage a competitor’s database or make disastrous financial decisions that would ensure AMD’s rise.
Acquiring Personnel and Assets: Instead of launching risky “headhunting runs” to extract rival researchers, which is a tactic she currently employs, she could use the virus to force rival executives to sign over patents, trade secrets, or even themselves, making her corporate acquisition efforts far more efficient and less traceable.
Bypassing Legal Responsibility: As the mandated “Face” of AMD, V Kaine is personally responsible for any crimes or illegal activities committed by the corporation. Using a cyber-control virus means any actions that lead to a rival’s downfall appear to be internal failures or self-inflicted wounds by the victims’ own altered technology, ensuring the trouble “isn’t connected directly to the management of the Corporation”.

Backstory

A History Forged in Ruthlessness

V Kaine’s career began years before AMD’s inception, spent rising through the ranks of a prior, smaller corporate entity. During this time, she cultivated significant expertise in materials science and logistical control. Her ascent, however, was brutal, teaching her the harsh realities of the corporate world: there are people below you who would kill for your job, and those above you who would kill to keep you out of theirs—literally.

Kaine eventually realized that continuing on her career path would lead to “terminal stagnation” within the established corporate entity. Rather than becoming another frustrated designer or executive limited by the hierarchies of an older organization, she chose to break free and create her own world.

The Drive to Night City: The Cybernetic Casablanca 🏙️

Kaine established Aether Materials Dynamics (AMD) and brought its operations to Night City, drawn by the chaotic, yet opportunistic environment of the Time of the Red.

Night City is a unique, independent “city-state” and a free trade zone—a cybernetic Casablanca—making it the ideal place for an ambitious new company to make the “Big Score” and rise to prominence. Kaine’s ultimate goal is to cement AMD’s footing and elevate it from a Neocorp to one of the new Megacorps that will define the post-War environment.