Lawrence Levy, ex-Pixar CFO, in an excerpt from his new book To Pixar and Beyond:
It started with Pam Kerwin, a Pixar Vice-President who was general manager of various business operations within Pixar. She was a little older than me, in her early-forties, with striking red hair and a sweet demeanor that quickly made others feel at ease around her. Her office was just down the hallway from mine, and she was one of the few people who invited me to say hello and give me the lay of the land.
“I don’t envy you,” Pam jumped in after some pleasantries, “I don’t think you really get what you’re up against.”
“Up against?” I asked.
“You’re Steve’s guy.”
I must have given Pam a terribly puzzled look, because I wasn’t sure what she meant.
“Pixar and Steve have a long history,” she went on. “Not a good one. You don’t know it yet but Pixar lives in fear of Steve.”
This quote should give you a sense of the tone of the book. But if you can live with that, I found this excerpt riveting, a fascinating insight into the business side of both Pixar and Steve. Looking forward to reading the book.
That is a terrific story, amazing. I remember it all well, both the opening of Toy Story and the IPO of Pixar. I got into Pixar a bit later and did well with it before the Disney buy (and after).
This is definitely on my ‘To Read’ list.
Looks good. I enjoyed (the last two thirds) of Making of Steve Jobs, but thought it glossed over Pixar a bit – even though it probably gave the most story of any book before.
Guessing this will only tell the second half of the Pixar story though – Toy Story up and running etc.
Need to get Jon Lassiter to write a book.