 | This biographical article is written like a résumé .(November 2016) |
Jon Snoddy | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Technology expert |
| Known for | Advanced Development Studio Executive SVP at Walt Disney Imagineering |
Jon Snoddy is an American technology expert who is currently the Advanced Development Studio Executive SVP at Walt Disney Imagineering. [1] [2] He was the co-founder of Big Stage Entertainment and has served as director, CTO, CCO and CTO in various technology/media firms. [3]
Snoddy holds a BA in Journalism from University of South Carolina (1979). He also holds an AS in Electronics engineering from Piedmont Institute of Technology, Greenwood, South Carolina. [4]
Snoddy served as the recording engineer, technical production, at National Public Radio (NPR) from January 1982 until March 1984. [5] While working with NPR, he served as the technical director for the program "All Things Considered". He was also the technical director for US 1984 Election coverage and technical director 1984 Winter Olympics. [5]
Between March 1984 and March 1987, Snoddy served as the project director at Lucasfilm Ltd. [6] From 1987 to 1995, he was the director, Senior Concept Designer at Disney. [7] Between 1987 and 1996, he served as the Senior Show Designer Walt Disney Imagineering. [8] From March 1987 to December 1996, he served as the director, Senior Concept Designer Walt Disney Imagineering. [9]
In 1996, Snoddy co-founded Sega GameWorks LLC alongside Steven Spielberg and Skip Paul. [10] From 1996 to 2001, Snoddy served as the chief creative officer at GameWorks. [11] In 2002, Snoddy and Steven Spielberg co-founded MyTelescope.com; an internet astronomy startup. [12] From January 2003 until February 2007, he was the CCO/CTO TimePlay Entertainment. [13] Between October 2009 and April 2014 he was the Vice President of R&D at Walt Disney Imagineering. [14]
In 2007, Snoddy co-founded Big Stage Entertainment alongside Jonathan I. Strietzel and Jon Kraft. [15] He also served as the CTO of the company from January 2007 to July 2009. [3] [16] In May 2015, Snoddy became the Advanced Development Studio Executive SVP at Walt Disney Imagineering. [17] [18] [19]
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also operates Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studio and manages Disney's properties, from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney, Inc., then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers.
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Bran Ferren is an American technologist, artist, architectural designer, vehicle designer, engineer, lighting and sound designer, visual effects artist, scientist, lecturer, photographer, entrepreneur, and inventor. Ferren is the former President of Research and Development of Walt Disney Imagineering as well as founder of Associates & Ferren, a multidisciplinary engineering and design firm acquired in 1993 by Disney. He is Chief Creative Officer of Applied Minds, which he co-founded in 2000 with Danny Hillis. Apple's "pinch-to-zoom" patent, which features prominently in its legal battle with Samsung, was invalidated by the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2013 based on a 2005 patent by Ferren and Hillis for multi-touch gestures.
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Edward Anthony "Eddie" Sotto III is an American experiential designer, mixed-media producer, and conceptualist. Sotto was formerly the Senior Vice President of Concept Design for Walt Disney Imagineering, and is currently president of the Los Angeles design firm SottoStudios Incorporated. He also established the think tank Futureproof Experiences in 2020 to address the challenges posed to the experiential industries by COVID-19. In 2002 Sotto was named one of the thousand most creative people in America in the book 1000: Richard Saul Wurman's Who's Really Who by TED founder Richard Saul Wurman. In 2018 he addressed the TEDxBermuda event with his presentation "The How of Wow". He was also named one of the Blooloop 50 list of theme park influencers in 2020.
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