Barry Weiss is a visionary animation and entertainment executive with an $8.6 billion track record, working on some of the most profitable and award-winning projects of the last fifteen years. As an executive, producer, and collaborator with Sony and Turner, he is recognized as a creative business leader in the evolution of the animation business and art form. In his presentations, Barry Weiss uses his behind-the-scenes stories about making movies to demonstrate how lessons from Hollywood can help business. He addresses how to bridge the gap between the arts and science, how to identify opportunities for innovation, and how to approach creativity and brainstorming in an organization.

Academy-Award Winning Characters. At Sony, Weiss was instrumental in the successful creation of the animated characters for the Stuart Little and Spiderman franchises, as well characters for over 35 feature films including Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Superman Returns and Academy Award nominee Surfs Up. He is credited on 58 feature films and shorts, which garnered two Academy Awards and eight additional Oscar nominations.

Weiss is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Short Subject and Feature Animation Branch Executive Committee. He is a charter member of the Academys Science and Technology Council and serves as chairman of the Public Programs and Educational Sub-Committee. In that role, he has been responsible for leading the Councils public discussion of current and emerging trends in technology in the overall motion picture industry.

An Animating Career. Most recently, Weiss was the senior vice president of Animation Production and Artist Development for Sony Pictures Imageworks. During his 14 year tenure at the studio, he planned, created, and managed a collaborative creative team that produced the animation and created characters for projects ranging in scope from Open Season to I Am Legend, which drove $150 million in annual revenue.

Weisss animation career began at Hanna-Barbera and Turner Feature Animation, where he was the principal studio executive and producer. There he designed, built, and supervised the production infrastructure for the studio feature film division. The studio produced the Annie Award-winning feature film Cats Don't Dance, which Barry co-produced. He is considered an exceptional budget and resource manager with skills in production and studio management, corporate strategic planning, financial management, operational implementation, and talent development. Recently returning to his Hanna-Barbera roots, Weiss was also the animation producer for Yogi Bear, using his past experience in the film industry to create a unique experience for viewers.

While an undergraduate at Northwestern University, Barry was the recipient of a Chicago Area Emmy Award for children's programming, as producer of The Magic Door for CBS.

Innovation, Branding, Creativity, Storytelling, Disney, Pixar Motivational, Leadership,