Ed Catmull

Ed Catmull is a co-founder of Pixar and a former president of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He grew up in Salt Lake City with an interest in both art and science. In his Computer History Museum interview, he describes wanting to become an animator, then choosing physics when he could not see a route into that work. At the University of Utah, computer graphics brought those interests together. He earned his doctorate in computer science in 1974. Catmull worked on computer animation at the New York Institute of Technology before George Lucas recruited him in 1979 to lead Lucasfilm’s Computer Division. The group developed tools for making films. In 1986, Steve Jobs bought the division and established Pixar as an independent company. Catmull’s path joined research, software, hardware and storytelling; the film studio emerged from years of work that did not begin as a proven feature-film business. Pixar released Toy Story in 1995 and went public days later. After Disney bought Pixar in 2006, Catmull and John Lasseter also took leadership roles at Disney Animation. Catmull retired from his studio presidency at the end of 2018 and remained a consultant through July 2019. His management book, Creativity, Inc., written with Amy Wallace, was expanded in 2023. His account of creative work centers on the conditions that help people see and fix problems. The Braintrust brought experienced colleagues together to test a film and help its team improve the work. Catmull treats honest discussion as a practice that needs continued care, because fear, status and personal attachment can suppress it. In his later interview with David Senra, he describes leaders delaying their own comments so that others can speak first. His experience is useful for studying how technical teams and creative teams can work through uncertain projects without making rank the test of an idea.