Ed Catmull built the most successful animation studio since Disney. He joins us to tell us how he and his team at Pixar did it – and pass on his lessons for leading a creative powerhouse.

Few people ever succeed in truly fusing art and science to change the world but, as the recipient of five Academy Awards and the Alan Turing Award, Pixar’s founder Ed Catmull is one. As a young man he dreamed of making the first computer-animated movie; then, forging a partnership with George Lucas that led to the founding of Pixar, he lived to realise that dream.

For almost thirty years Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing films equally beloved by children and adults – Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E, to name but a few. The joyous storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: in some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is.

Sharing his life story, an insider’s guide to the history of Pixar, and practical advice for nurturing highly creative teams, this livestream In Conversation event with Ed will reveal how the magic happened at one of the most successful media businesses the world has ever seen.

He will impart the philosophies the Pixar team use to protect the creative process and defy convention. Pursuing excellence isn’t a one-off assignment, but an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. This livestream event will explore how it is done.

Praise for Ed Catmull’s Creativity, Inc.:

‘Many have attempted to formulate and categorize inspiration and creativity. What Ed Catmull shares instead is his astute experience that creativity isn’t strictly a well of ideas, but an alchemy of people. In Creativity, Inc. Ed reveals, with commonsense specificity and honesty, examples of how not to get in your own way and realize a creative coalescence of art, business and innovation.’ – George Lucas