I’m going to get my butt handed to me for creating this thread.
I recently found out who is on the Board of Directors at DreamWorks Animation, and it explains why the studio’s the way it is. I’m only listing the ones who are worth mentioning. Take a look at this:
Jeffery Katzenberg - CEO of DreamWorks Animation (come back to Disney’s Board of Directors)
Howard Schultz - Chairman and Chief Global Strategist of Starbucks ( Who brought him to the table? Oh, man, oh, man)
Meg Whitman - President and CEO of eBay ( she was considered for CEO of Disney before Bob Iger was chosen. Thank god, we got Bob.)
Karl van der Heyden - retired Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Pepsico, Inc. (need I say more ? Oh my lord.)
Talk about everything related to DreamWorks Animation.
Ok - I’m not normally one to defend DreamWorks but have you ever looked at the Disney Board of Directors???
Most notably we have Mr. Orin C. Smith the former CEO of Starbucks - effectively trumping Mr. Schultz in that company.
If you dig deeper you’ll find other big and even controversial company names like Estee Lauder, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Morgan, Stanley & Co, Edison International, Procter & Gamble, Cisco Systems, FedEx, Sears, and even Haliburton!
And let’s face it, Mr. Jobs and Apple isn’t exactly the least controversial company in the world.
The list goes on but these are just the ones you might actually recognize.
The boards are in general made up of some of the days greatest strategists, money makers, innovators and visionaries. All of these companies do business VERY well and a re unique in their respective industries. Now the difference is who we have at the top running it. Jeffrey Katzenburg is an amazing man and fine animator but incapable of running that company alone, even with the assistance of on Mr. Spielberg. On Disney’s side however we have the shrewd minds of Iger and Jobs complimented by people like Catmull and Lasseter on the next rung down. They have a firm hand on the company and great control in steering the company so these people can instill their own since of business without ruining the culture and values that is associated with the Disney*Pixar brand.
It’s a very fine line that as of recent Disney has tread quite well. =)
Interesting information. Thank you for sharing it, Sirs.
“Money makers” should be underlined.
Of course, there are a good handful of exceptions, so I guess I should talk. I’m pleased that the Disney company, at least, is returning to the act of treading on solid ground. As long as the top dogs in charge have a hold on what they’re integrating into the system, I won’t sweat any bullets. DreamWorks, on the other hand, seems slightly less imbedded in concrete as far as story goes, but who’s mentioning story here?
Dreamworks is a sell-out but I can’t help but give their films a try. I think it’s my love for animation. You can’t necessarily judge them on a whole- if given a chance you can see the good in some of their films.
Thanks for the info on who’s behind it, but it doesn’t mean much to me. Though it is crazy that they have people from different companies like that - it just proves that all they’re after is money, most of the time. Occasionally they have good films, but even that probably happens on a fluke- they just sort of spew them out. Still, I jump at the chance to see any one of their films that catches my interest.
