Building the Future of Characters, Story, and Creative Systems
This is me
For nearly two decades, I’ve built characters and creative systems at the frontier of animation and emerging technology.
I began in feature animation at Pixar and Disney, contributing to films including Toy Story 3, Brave, Monsters University, and Bolt. I later became the first character animator hired at Google, where I helped shape immersive storytelling initiatives across platforms such as Daydream and Spotlight Stories.
As Lead Animator at ToyTalk, an early pioneer in AI-driven conversational characters, I deepened a focus that has now spanned more than seven years: bringing intelligence, performance, and authorship into character-driven systems.
At Meta, I oversaw the animation team across avatars systems, strategy for Gen AI and the Metaverse, shipping Bobber Bay and Super Rumble Bots—among the first large-scale LLM-powered character experiences. The work established how AI-generated motion, avatars, and NPCs could scale while preserving craft and artistic intent.
In parallel, I founded three ventures across animation and design and directed the award-winning short film Sonder, one of the first animated films to integrate the Unity real-time engine into its production pipeline, securing a global marketing partnership with Unity.
My work centers on building intelligent character platforms that combine cinematic taste with scalable technology.
AI & Creative Systems
I design and build intelligent character platforms at the intersection of animation craft and machine learning. Over the past decade, my work has bridged storytelling and AI—from pioneering early conversational characters at PullString to leading generative animation strategy at Meta. At Meta, I shipped Bobber Bay and Super Rumble Bots, among the first large-scale LLM-powered character experiences, helping define how AI-generated motion, avatars, and NPCs scale while preserving performance, taste, and artistic intent. My focus is building systems where intelligence enhances authorship rather than replacing it.
Animation & Motion
My foundation is in animation and motion, shaped by nearly two decades across feature film, games, and immersive media. At Pixar and Disney, I contributed to films including Toy Story 3, Brave, Monsters University, and Bolt, working within pipelines where clarity of pose, weight, timing, and silhouette are non-negotiable. At Google, I led motion design for the Pixel Watch Face, defining motion systems that translated cinematic principles into micro-scale interaction. From theatrical screens to a display on your wrist, scale changes — standards do not.
Leadership & Direction
I operate at the intersection of creative direction and system design. I’ve founded three ventures—Netic Studios, Soba Productions, and Bush + Leavenworth—each exploring how storytelling, design, and product can become scalable platforms. As Director of the award-winning short film Sonder, one of the first animated films to integrate Unity’s real-time engine into its production pipeline, I secured a global marketing partnership with Unity and demonstrated how real-time technology could support cinematic storytelling.
Across large organizations and early-stage ventures, I build teams, define standards, and translate ambitious ideas into shipped work.
“Build with intelligence. Lead with taste”
The next generation of creative systems must do more than scale, they must preserve intention. Intelligence expands capability, but taste sets direction. I focus on building platforms where AI enhances performance and storytelling without compromising craft. In a world of infinite output, judgment becomes the advantage.