TURIN, Italy — The phrase “culture is what you tolerate” defined the conversation among top visual effects and animation executives at the VIEW Conference this week, highlighting the shift from top-down management to more collaborative studio environments.
Michelle Grady, president of Sony Pictures Imageworks, offered that maxim during the “Leadership & Mentoring: Training the Next Generation of Leaders” panel. She emphasized that building a workplace where employees can thrive requires consistent emulation of values and the willingness to make difficult personnel decisions when necessary.
Grady was joined on stage by Janet Lewin, senior vice president and general manager at ILM; Holly Edwards, president of Skydance Animation; Dylan Sisson, head of RenderMan creative engagement at Pixar; Jan-Bart van Beek, studio director at Guerrilla Games; and Eloi Champagne from the National Film Board of Canada. The discussion was moderated by Saint John Walker of the University of Hertfordshire.
When asked about “anti-mentors,” or bad bosses, Grady acknowledged that tough experiences often provide the clearest lessons on desired leadership behaviors. Lewin agreed, noting that it is a leader’s responsibility to actively coach and intervene when managers struggle, rather than hoping issues resolve themselves.
The panel also addressed the evolving expectations of younger workers. Grady described a move away from rigid hierarchies toward democratic, participatory leadership, stating that the current generation seeks to have a voice in their work. Lewin pointed to ILM’s employee forums and open-door policies as mechanisms to bypass management layers and access raw feedback, though she cautioned that while participation is valuable, final decision-making authority remains essential.
Addressing the most painful decisions in leadership, Lewin referenced the closure of ILM’s Singapore studio in August 2023. The move affected more than 300 employees and was driven by the need to remain cost-competitive. Lewin noted that the closure was unrelated to talent quality and that the company managed to retain approximately 60% of the staff by relocating them to other ILM sites.
The industry is also revising how it trains its future leaders. Grady recalled a past era where studios simply promoted exceptional artists into management without adequate preparation. Today, formal programs are addressing this gap. ILM has launched a six-month mentorship initiative pairing aspiring leaders with senior executives, while Imageworks’ program, originally started as a diversity initiative with 30 participants, is now oversubscribed annually.
Dylan Sisson shared that his own generation largely learned leadership on the job, as mentorship was not prevalent during his early career at Pixar. He highlighted that Pixar has since integrated mentorship into its RenderMan Challenge, significantly impacting participants’ career trajectories.
Opportunities for emerging talent are becoming scarcer, particularly in video games. Jan-Bart van Beek noted that the high cost and long development cycles of major projects make it difficult for studios to gamble on new talent, suggesting that model of shorter, less risky productions—like Pixar’s animated shorts—is a potential solution.
The panel featured two emerging artists, ILM concept artist Emily Bland and concept artist Isobel Hine, who founded organizations to combat lack of representation and mentorship. Both urged studios to promote younger staff, particularly women, into leadership roles sooner. Hine observed that women often self-select out of opportunities if they do not meet every criterion, calling on leaders to help lower the ladder for the next generation.
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