Ed Catmull
Co-Founder, Pixar. On 2 shows, 3 appearances. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
scientistfounderexecutiveauthor@edcatmull ↗edcatmull.com ↗Wikipedia ↗
Ed Catmull is a computer scientist and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios. He served as president of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios and co-authored the book Creativity, Inc.
2shows
3appearances
64statements
12resolved
11supported
1contradicted
92%fully supported
5said about them ↓ Everything Ed Catmull said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Jack Welch Gutted GE and His Disciples Later Damaged Boeing
“It's split up into pieces. And it was completely fragile. Not robust because he gutted it of the future research. But the people that were there were hired and considerably valuable because they'd grown up in that system. Two of them which went on to become le…”
Steve Jobs Was Excluded From Pixar's Braintrust Due to His Overwhelming Presence
“Steve had such a powerful voice that it didn't matter when he spoke,
Ed Catmull: He was going to have this extremely strong effect on the dynamics of the room, and he understood that.
Ed Catmull: So, it was the reason he didn't come.
Ed Catmull: I said, you…”
Steve Jobs Never Gave Film Notes That Others Had Not Already Voiced
“There was nothing that Steve ever said that had not been said by some of the, somebody else before in one of those meetings.”
Steve Jobs Transformed His Leadership Style Between 1991 and 1995
“What people didn't understand, and I think they didn't know, was that years of 91 to 95 was when Steve made this major transformation.”
Catmull: Steve Jobs developed empathy and a sense of humor during 1991-1995
“I would say from 91 to 95 was a dramatic change in him as a person. He became more empathetic and caring. He paid attention to people. You actually begin to see him having a sense of humor.”
Corporate Leaders Mistake Sycophancy for Insight
“Every company says they do that. Most of them are full of shit, right? They, what they've got are people around them who are telling them what the leader wants to hear. And the leader thinks, because they're hearing what they want to hear, that they've got thi…”
Steve Jobs Fired Two Pixar Board Members for Never Disagreeing
“In that 10 year period, Steve fired two members of the board of directors at Pixar. The reason he fired them was that they never disagreed, and he said, if they don't disagree with me, then they aren't bringing any value to the company.”
Catmull: Pixar's Braintrust failed as an outside force but worked for problem-solving
“Now, ah, it was to replace what Tom Schumacher was doing. It didn't work. The problem was, they weren't outside. They're in the building, they're all the time, and they're always know what's going on. Ah, so the notion of them being on the outside isn't true. …”
Catmull: Steve Jobs acted as Pixar's outside corrective force
“We had to get another outside force, and the outside force was Steve Jobs.”
Leaders Must Stay Silent for the First 15 Minutes of Feedback
“There's another reason why you didn't go to the brain trust meetings, is that in order to get the dynamics right, that the people with power, either real or perceived power, need to shut the hell up for the first 10 to 15 minutes.
David Senra: And he couldn't…”
A CEO's Job Is Managing Room Dynamics, Not Making the Product
“So paying attention to the dynamics of those rooms is the job. They're the ones that are making the movies. I'm not making the movie. I'm just trying to make sure they work well together.”
Catmull: Michael Eisner testified before Congress without understanding digital ripping
“Michael Eisner was testifying against without knowing what the term actually meant. So it was upsetting to Steve.”
Steve Jobs Considered Pixar's Initial Disney Contract His Worst Deal Ever
“Steve walked away feeling like it was one of the worst deal he's ever struck.”
Catmull: Jobs refused to renew Pixar deal while Eisner ran Disney
“Michael Eisner was still the CEO, and he would not have continued with Michael Eisner. So, since we were getting into the contract, he started discussions with other studios which would mean, you know, them doing the distribution.”
Bob Iger Won Steve Jobs Over by Admitting Disney's Weak Hand
“Bob Iger starts the conversation by saying, I've got a crappy hand, can we talk? And for him, it's like, that's a show of honesty that's unusual.
David Senra: Usually you don't start a negotiation by saying, hey, other party, you have all the leverage here.
…”
Pixar Directors Can Make Mistakes, But Cannot Lose the Team
“The one thing that the director can't do, they can screw up in all sorts of ways, but they can't lose the team. That was our guiding line.”
Catmull: Mission statements provide static answers when companies should ask questions
“A mission statement is an answer when typically we should always be asking questions.”
Catmull: Steve Jobs did not believe Pixar's success was solely his doing
“No. I think some people think he did, and I, that was interesting there, but no, he didn't. He was very, we talked about this. He was very clear about it. Like any project, you know, when you work on something, there are a lot of people around that are working…”
Discipline Individuals Directly Instead of Making Blanket Company Rules
“If somebody violates a rule of common sense, People do once in a while. You call them on the carpet, you tell them you can't do it, but you don't make a rule so that nobody else makes the same mistake. Because as soon as you make more rules, then people are wo…”
Steve Jobs underwent a dramatic personal transformation between 1991 and 1995
“I would say from 91 to 95 was a dramatic change in him as a person. He became more empathetic and caring. He paid attention to people. You actually begin to see him having a sense of humor.”
Catmull: Star Wars is probably film history's most impactful movie
“Star Wars is probably the single most impactful movie in the history of the motion picture industry. I mean, it really changed a lot of things.”
Catmull: Jobs predicted Toy Story's IPO would force Disney to renegotiate
“Which was that when the film comes out, then Michael Eisner will realize he's just created his worst nightmare, because with two more films, you know, the deal's over with, but now we're a free and independent company, and so we then become a competitor. So St…”
Catmull: Serious creative problems require small groups rather than large meetings
“If things are going well, you like a bigger group because you're training other people to feel comfortable. In this way of working. But the problem is really serious when you go to a small group where they're for past that stuff and they can focus on the probl…”
Catmull: Disney signed initial Pixar deal expecting small boutique films
“Our contract with Disney, an initial contract, was to make three movies. And at the time it was signed Disney perceived that Pixar was going to produce boutique films, their word, much as they would consider A Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop motion animated…”
The other half of the tape: Ed Catmull's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 3 times in 2 episodes across the shows. 2 statements on the record name them. every mention, with the transcript →
Who brings them up most David Senra 3
Statements about Ed Catmull, by other people (2)
Hoffman: Early computing revolution deeply parallels today's AI revolution
“There are deep parallels between the huge advances in computing underway at this point in Ed's story and the seismic impacts of the current AI revolution. Like AI, the computational wave that Ed was immersing himself in was going to inform sweeping changes in …”
George Lucas spun off Pixar due to his 1983 divorce settlement
“Meanwhile, Lucasfilm was put under financial strain by George's 1983 divorce settlement. Although Ed's computer graphics division was making huge strides in technology, it wasn't making money for its parent company, so George made the decision to spin it off.”
Every mention by year
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David Senra 3
2026 2 mentions in 1 episode
2025 1 mention in 1 episode
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Ed's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAVID SENRALEDGER | Co-Founder, Pixar | 1 | 37 | 100% 6/6 | full record on David Senra → |
 MASTERS OF SCALELEDGER | Co-Founder, Pixar | 2 | 27 | 83% 5/6 | full record on Masters of Scale → |