To Pixar and Beyond

When Pixar was on the verge of failure, Steve Jobs called Lawrence Levy and asked him to help recover the company. Pixar started as a Lucasfilm computer graphics company before being bought by Jobs, who feuded with the creative team. After Levy was brought on, they decided to take the risky chance of turning Pixar into a full-fledged animation studio. They implemented a four-pillar plan, hoping to win back profits and credit from a bad contract with Disney, make movies regularly, and have a successful IPO. After the release of their Toy Story, Pixar proved to be an inventive and dependable studio and eventually raised their valuation to 6 billion dollars after investing in their creative team. Despite their rocky start, Pixar was sold for 7.4 billion to Disney and restored Steve Jobs as a leader at the cusp of technological innovation.

Lawrence Levy served as the Chief Financial Officer and a member of its Office of the President for 12 years. Later he became a member of its board of directors. He helped take Pixar from a graphics company to a billion-dollar entertainment studio. He later left to pursue his passion for Buddhist philosophy and founded the Juniper Foundation with his wife. He is developing a series of books on balancing materialism, consumption and inner strength. He had degrees from Indiana University and Harvard Law School and lives in Palo Alto.