Don Levy has been at the forefront of the entertainment industry’s digital transformation, developing “the intersection of entertainment and technology” throughout his career and at Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Digital) from 1995-2012.

During his tenure at SPE, he was a key member of Sony Pictures Digital’s senior executive team, involved in the management, marketing, communications, public relations, organizational development and digital policy functions of his division and the company. He was instrumental in the growth of SPE’s visual effects, animation, post-production and digital entertainment businesses.  Levy originally joined Sony Pictures as the studio’s awards campaign consultant where his efforts resulted in a Best Picture nomination for “Sense and Sensibility” and the Academy Award for its screenplay adaptation by Emma Thompson.  At Sony Pictures Imageworks and for Sony Pictures Animation, he helped earn more than a dozen Oscar™ nominations and Academy Awards for Best Animated Short (The ChubbChubbs) and Best Visual Effects (Spider-Man 2).

Don is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, serving on its feature animation nominating committee and recently chaired a working group for the Science and Technology Council. He also is a member of The Television Academy’s Interactive Peer Group, The Visual Effects Society, ASIFA Hollywood, the International Photographers Guild and METAL, the Media, Entertainment and Technology Alpha Leaders organization.  

Levy is a frequent speaker on the subjects of innovation, digital creativity, education and visual effects. His 2012 talk on the principles and evolution of visual effects at the TED Conference in Long Beach, CA was posted on TED.com in January 2013. http://bit.ly/YcdWUQ.  In 2013, he organized a

3-hour seminar on visual communication at the FMX Conference in Stuttgart, Germany, a complete track on blockbuster production at Digital Hollywood, and series of symposia in Chile.

Don also is active in education issues, from public school funding to the future of education, and the relationship between art, science and invention. He moderates and/or speaks at various conferences around the world. He is a longtime attendee of the TED Conference and produces the independently organized TEDxConejo, which he produces with the Conejo Valley (California) Unified School District and sells out annually.  

Levy is on the faculty of Boston University’s L.A. Program, where he teaches Entertainment Marketing.  He holds a visiting scholar post at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, exploring collaborative production models, and he is a consultant to USC’s Entertainment Technology Center.  He is an advisor to Cosmic Forces, a content start-up specializing in animation and mobile applications, and serves on the board of advisors for BLUE, the Ocean Film Festival and Conference, a leading forum for  filmmakers, researchers and individuals actively engaged in the study and protection of the oceans.   

In 2012, Don created Smith Brook Farm, a creative consultancy to help thought leaders and businesses grow.

Levy received his B.A. from the University of Denver and certificates from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business.

He began his career in entertainment as a unit publicist working on such films as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, A Soldier’s Story, Poltergeist, 2010, Clear and Present Danger, Iceman, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and Coming Home.  He went on to lead production publicity at Paramount Pictures for 6 years before leaving to work on The Air Up There, shooting on location in Africa. Levy met his wife while working on The Witches of Eastwick. They now live in Thousand Oaks and have two college-age sons.