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Edward Saatchi

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Edward Saatchi
Born (1985-02-19) 19 February 1985 (age 39)
England
EducationWestminster School, London[1]
Alma materWadham College, Oxford[2]
Sorbonne[2]
OccupationBusinessman
Known forCo-founder of NationalField
Parent(s)Maurice Saatchi
Josephine Hart
Websitewww.fable-studio.com

Edward Saatchi (born 19 February 1985) is a British businessman and filmmaker. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of artificial intelligence-powered virtual being company Fable.[3] He was formerly a producer at Oculus Story Studio and the CEO and co-founder of political technology company, NationalField.[4]

Early life and education

Edward Saatchi is the son of Maurice Saatchi and Josephine Hart.[2][5] His father was an Iraqi Jew born in Baghdad while his mother was Irish. He was educated at London's Westminster School[1] and Wadham College in Oxford, where he took a double first in English Studies.[2] He attended the Sorbonne for graduate studies in philosophy and economics, before leaving for the US to volunteer for Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign.[2]

Career

Saatchi was initially rejected in his efforts to join the Obama campaign because of his alien status,[6] but eventually permitted to participate after personally presenting himself at a campaign office in Iowa.[6] During his tenure with the campaign, he met Aharon Wasserman and Justin Lewis. The three developed an "internal social network" to more easily keep track of campaign data and coordinate communications between managers, staff, and volunteers.[1] The network was rapidly adopted across multiple branches of the campaign and eventually commercialised in its present form as NationalField.[1] He is the company's CEO. In 2011, Saatchi, along with his co-founders, was named in a Forbes's 30 Under 30 list.[7]

In 2014, he was part of the founding team of Oculus Story Studio, the virtual-reality filmmaking division of Oculus VR.[8]

In January 2018, Fable Studio, which Saatchi co-founded with Pete Billington, launched, with Wolves in the Walls as its premiere title.[9] The property was based on the Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean children's book of the same name.[10] In August 2019, Wolves in the Walls won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding innovation in interactive media.[11]

Personal life

Saatchi told Forbes in 2014 that he practises Transcendental Meditation, rises before dawn, exercises daily and enjoys films and painting.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Moulds, Josephine (1 October 2011). "Edward Saatchi's private social network aims to make businesses more democratic". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e Urwin, Rosamund (19 October 2011). "Son of Saatchi: Edward, the British Mark Zuckerberg". The Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Fable moves away from VR and towards AI-powered 'virtual beings'". Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  4. ^ Rusli, Evelyn M. (26 January 2015). "Oculus to Make Virtual-Reality Movies". Retrieved 27 March 2019 – via www.wsj.com.
  5. ^ "How Edward Saatchi's NationalField Can Make Your Workplace A Happy, Productive Hive". fastcompany.com. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  6. ^ a b "NationalField: Ed Saatchi". Growing Business. 6 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  7. ^ Hill, Kashmir (19 December 2011). "30 Under 30: NationalField Thinks Your Business Needs Its Own Social Network". Forbes. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  8. ^ Rusli, Evelyn (26 January 2015). "Oculus to Make Virtual-Reality Movies". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  9. ^ Damiani, Jesse. "Fable's 'Wolves in the Walls' Launched Lucy As A Virtual Being -- And The Implications Are Massive". Forbes. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  10. ^ "WOLVES IN THE WALLS is the Future of VR Filmmaking". Nerdist. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  11. ^ Roettgers, Janko (23 August 2019). "Neil Gaiman VR Experience 'Wolves in the Walls' Wins Primetime Emmy". Variety. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  12. ^ "14 Founders On What Keeps Them Sane". Forbes.com. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
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