Rick Mischel’s journey took him from the electric buzz of Broadway in New York to the sunny embrace of South Florida and now as Founder and CEO of Artists Animation Studio, to Kelowna, BC. His early days as a Club Med kids' club counselor and a number of other unexpected roles laid the foundation for an extraordinary path through the entertainment realm, a journey that brought him to Vancouver for a tenure at Rainmaker Studios, where he faced the daunting challenge of steering the company away from the brink of disaster. He shares the bold decisions, the difficult layoffs, and the personal sacrifices made to keep the dream alive. It's a tale of resilience and leadership, where transparency and respect become the keystones of a remarkable recovery. His career in the boardrooms of Technicolor and Sony Pictures ImageWorks, and his pivotal role in the animation renaissance at Bardell have all led to this latest challenge: the formation of Artists Animation Studio where Rick looks forward to continuing a legacy of fostering a culture of creativity and innovation. Episode Links: Website Host: Marina Antunes Opening & Closing Credits by: Michael Edlund Produced & Edited by: Joshua Peterman ©2024 Spark CG Society · All Rights Reserved. Thank you to our sponsors! TERABYTE: Creative BC. MEGABYTE: Animal Logic · Capilano University · Netflix. KILOBYTE: Bardel Entertainment · Industrial Light & Magic · Sony Pictures Imageworks · The Little Dev Shop · WildBrain Studios. BYTE: Cinesite · DigiBC · Vancouver Film School · Wētā FX. PARTNERS: ACM SIGGRAPH · SIGGRAPH Asia  · INFilm. ORGANIZERS: Spark CG Society · Vancouver ACM SIGGRAPH.