Lucasfilm division also promotes Gretchen Libby to VP, marketing and production.
Rob Bredow has been appointed senior VP, executive creative director and head of ILM, where he is a co-producer and visual-effects supervisor on the upcoming feature ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story.’
SAN FRANCISCO -- Industrial Light & Magic has appointed respected industry veteran Rob Bredow as senior VP, executive creative director and head of ILM. It also was announced that Gretchen Libby has been promoted to VP, marketing and production. Bredow will be in charge of ILM’s four global studios and report to Lucasfilm general manager Lynwen Brennan, and Libby will report to Bredow.
Bredow joined ILM as a visual-effects supervisor in 2014, and shortly thereafter was named VP of new media and head of Lucasfilm’s Advanced Development Group. Bredow was instrumental in launching in 2015 a new division, ILMxLAB, combining the talents of Lucasfilm, ILM and Skywalker Sound to develop, create and release story-based immersive entertainment. In 2016, Bredow was promoted to CTO of Lucasfilm, overseeing technical operations and partnerships as well as the company’s technology roadmap. Bredow is visual-effects supervisor and co-producer on Solo: A Star Wars Story, directed by Ron Howard and out May 25 in theaters.
“I’m honored to take on this role for Industrial Light & Magic,” says Bredow. “From my involvement with the launch of ILMxLAB to supervising the visual effects team on the soon-to-release Solo: A Star Wars Story, I can honestly say the people at this company are some of the most passionate, creative and dedicated people I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with. I'm thrilled to help guide ILM's legacy of innovation and excellence on a global scale.
Prior to joining ILM, Bredow was the CTO and visual-effects supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks. He has worked on films such as Independence Day, Godzilla, Stuart Little, Castaway, Surf’s Up and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.
Bredow is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Visual Effects Branch) and the AMPAS Scientific and Technical Council. In 2010, he was nominated for a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture.
Libby started at ILM in 1997 as a production manager. A year later, she was promoted to associate visual effects producer for A Perfect Storm and then to visual-effects producer on Star Wars: Attack of the Clones two years later. In her previous role, Libby had focused on the company’s global expansion, which included opening studios in Singapore, Vancouver and London, and was the key marketing point of contact for ILM’s clients. Libby’s focus will remain on client marketing, overseeing all global production and strategic relationships. Prior to ILM, Libby worked in visual-effects film production at Pacific Data Images in Palo Alto, Calif., and in visual-effects commercial production in New York.
“In my 21 years at the company I have seen firsthand the tremendous impact ILM has had, and continues to have, on the industry,” says Libby. “I’m excited to help ILM continue to evolve as we take on new challenges and provide new and exciting ways for storytellers to share their visions.”
Libby is a member of the Producers Guild of America and formerly served on the board of directors of the Visual Effects Society, of which she remains a member. She is also a member of Women in Film and has served as a producer on 29 feature films, eight of which received Academy Award nominations for visual effects.
Source: Lucasfilm
Tom McLean has been writing for years about animation from a secret base in Los Angeles.
