Chris Russell

Current

Vice President, Engineering at Nirvanix, Inc.

Past

Vice President, Technology at NextEngine
Chief Technology Officer at DivX, Inc.
Vice President, Internet Standards and Technology at Motion Picture Association of America

Vice President, Technology at Sony Pictures Entertainment
Director of Software Engineering at Sony Pictures Imageworks
Senior Software Engineer at Silicon Graphics
Technical Director and Lead Software Engineer at VIFX
Software Engineer at Hughes Aircraft

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Education

Pepperdine University
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

Recommended

23 people have recommended Chris

Connections

500+ connections

Industry

Computer Software

Chris Russell’s Summary

A hands-on technology executive with an extensive business background and a passion for building new products, technologies, and companies. Developed and launched an online video rental business for Sony Pictures, created new products for Sony, DivX, and Silicon Graphics, and took DivX public for a $536MM valuation.

Broad and deep experience in engineering, product management, business development, and an industry reputation for innovation and user-centric design.

Chris Russell’s Specialties:

Engineering, technology, product management, corporate officer, strategic planning, technical operations, digital entertainment, video, computer graphics, network communications, high-tech startups, scientific computing, computer & security engineering, business software, and web.

Chris Russell’s Experience

Vice President, Engineering

Nirvanix, Inc.

(Privately Held; Internet industry)

2009 — Present (less than a year)

Getting my hands dirty in product development, engineering, and technical operations.
Vice President, Technology

NextEngine

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

2008 — 2009 (1 year )

Helped launch NextEngine’s next generation 3D scanner products (HD & HD PRO), including product development, product lining strategies, pricing, EULAs, sales campaigns, upgrade policies, and promotions, resulting in significant uptake.

Established various best practices, including agile development, product planning/roadmaps, qualifying sales leads, strategic planning, and R&D.

And having a blast!
Chief Technology Officer

DivX, Inc.

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; DIVX; Computer Software industry)

2005 — 2008 (3 years )

Managed the development of all the company’s products: MPEG video players, media management, video encoding, streaming, digital rights management, community web sites, and online storefronts. Authored patents and led the charge for innovation, platform development, and user experience design.

Member of the senior management team: strategic planning, corporate development, market research, and business analytics.

A hands-on corporate officer managing half the company (over 140 employees): product development, OEM certification, partner support, user experience design, field application engineering, quality assurance, research, information technology, management information systems, and encoding services.

Helped take the company public in 2006, and successfully negotiated their first content licensing deal in 2007. Previously headed up corporate strategy in 2005, prior to being promoted to CTO.
Vice President, Internet Standards and Technology

Motion Picture Association of America

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Automotive industry)

2002 — 2005 (3 years )

Technical representative for the major motion picture studios: Disney, Fox, MGM, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Universal, & Warner Bros.

Authored patents, developed, and promoted new technologies and business opportunities for Internet movie delivery: online video rentals, download-to-own, subscription services, distribution, and content security. Developed open standards within MPEG (ISO & ANSI), ISMA, SMPTE, OMA, et al.

Founding board member of Contecs:DD LLC for the MPAA, a licensing entity for the MPEG-21 rights data dictionary technology (ISO/IEC 21000-6).
Vice President, Technology

Sony Pictures Entertainment

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; SNE; Entertainment industry)

1998 — 2001 (3 years )

Developed and launched MovieLink, an online movie rental and distribution company within Sony Pictures, and assisted in securing adoption and joint ownership with MGM, Paramount, Universal, and Warner Bros.

Authored patents and led all engineering projects within the newly formed “Digital Entertainment” division: digital media software, web storefronts, digital rights management, network operations, content distribution networks, customer relationship management, content management, and web reporting.

Established and led new departments for software engineering, systems engineering, video engineering, and quality assurance (over 50 employees). Consolidated technical operations from other divisions.
Director of Software Engineering

Sony Pictures Imageworks

(Public Company; SNE; Motion Pictures and Film industry)

1996 — 1998 (2 years )

Led the development of cutting-edge visual effects software: image processing, compositing, 3D modeling, animation (procedural, kinematics, dynamics, inverse kinematics, behavioral, etc.), lighting, shading, rendering, motion control, real-time playback, color management, workflow automation, rendering queues, asset management, and high-speed networking.

Managed all software engineering (over 25 employees). Increased productivity fourfold within the first month, and reduced software defects threefold within the first six months.

Visual effects on Stuart Little, Hollow Man, Godzilla, Starship Troopers, Contact, and numerous others.

Developed image processing technologies used by Imageworks for visual effects work and Sony Japan for commercial products.
Senior Software Engineer

Silicon Graphics

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; SGI; Computer Hardware industry)

1995 — 1996 (1 year )

Led a team of engineers to develop commercial software for motion picture visual effects and digital asset management. Worked on site at DreamWorks/SKG Feature Animation for product design, integration, and support. Software was used on Prince of Egypt and subsequent animated films.
Technical Director and Lead Software Engineer

VIFX

(Entertainment industry)

1992 — 1995 (3 years )

Designed and developed cutting-edge visual effects software: 3D animation, particle systems, image processing, physical-based simulation, rendering and shading tools, and “good ‘ol” production glue.

Visual effects on Down Periscope, Sudden Death, Power Rangers, Tall Tale, Dolores Claiborne, Clear & Present Danger, Outbreak, I Love Trouble, Time Cop, and Demolition Man.

Animation experience with Prisms, Alias, SoftImage, Ultimatte, Flame, and Renderman.
Software Engineer

Hughes Aircraft

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; GMH; Defense & Space industry)

1990 — 1993 (3 years )

Designed and developed classified aircraft simulation systems and computer aided software engineering tools. Multiple security clearances.

Chris Russell’s Education

Pepperdine University

Masters , Business Administration , 2005

"Minor" in Finance, including business valuation, M&A, corporate restructuring, capital markets, & financial management.
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

Bachelor of Science , Computer Science , 1992

Dean's honor list.

Activities and Societies:

ACM, robotics design club, physics club, student body activities director, computer aided engineering, fencing team, vaulting team, & equitation.