Todd Waits — In the House!
The search for an executive producer to lead development of our Beta has been a long one. Over the last few weeks, we have had the opportunity to interview some excellent candidates. And it looks like we’re heading in the right direction with one particularly talented individual — Todd Waits.
Todd is no stranger to Skill-Life. As CEO of Semiotic Technologies, he led the team that produced our current prototype. It’s been a year since I first met with Todd at a Starbucks on East Carson (a day on which I distinctly remember getting caught in the rain and ending up drenched by the time I arrived). Over that time, we have had the opportunity to work closely together, sharing successes and overcoming challenges. Todd is intimately familiar with Skill-Life, from our program code to our mission for social impact. There is perhaps no better partner at this stage to help take our product from prototype to Beta and beyond.
Over the next month, Todd is working with Skill-Life on an interim basis. We intend to use the days ahead to hone in on our product development plans and to strengthen the Skill-Life business model. We’re spending this week meeting with developers in Boston and in Philadelphia while attending the upcoming Echoing Green conference. By next month, we’ll have an even stronger sense of where to take this company and how best to bring Todd on at a high level.
Todd Waits graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Film. While an undergraduate, he directed a crew of over twenty students and studied cinematic techniques as they relate to video game theory. As a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment & Technology Center, Todd implemented a project to more closely examine the emerging technology of small-screen media such as video iPods, Sony PSPs and cell phones. He worked with ETC Media Services to help further hone the image of the ETC and its focus on creating high quality internal productions. During his final year, he worked with CERT, also located at Carnegie Mellon University, to develop a training simulation prototype to teach supervisors and managers how to detect and mitigate insider computer sabotage. As CEO of Semiotic Technologies, he has partnered with Stephen Calender and Evan Miller to build virtual environments for the White House Historical Society, SimTime, Skill-Life, and others — contracting over $120,000 in sales.