FP&A Today May the FP&A Be with you: a hero’s journey from Pixar, Lucasfilm, and LinkedIn (with Craig Barry)
Apr 17, 2025
Craig Barry, a seasoned finance consultant with a rich background at companies like Pixar and LinkedIn, shares insights from his incredible journey in strategic finance. He details his unique path from environmental studies to key FP&A roles, emphasizing the importance of revenue growth in creative industries. Barry discusses the intricacies of mergers and acquisitions, and the process of building FP&A from scratch at BioRender. He also touches on the evolution of financial practices in startups and the transformative role of AI in Excel.
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Cost Center Focus at EA & Pixar
- At EA and Pixar, Barry focused on cost center management in creative industries.
- He worked on optimizing game development costs and improving production efficiency, like by outsourcing artwork to Vietnam or Indonesia.
Lucasfilm's Unique Financial Focus
- Lucasfilm, pre-Disney, operated like a sole proprietorship under George Lucas.
- Financial management focused on Lucas's personal tax situation, unlike public companies like EA.
Pixar Canada: Tax Credits & Characters
- As head of finance for Pixar Canada, Barry managed short film production planning.
- The goal was maximizing tax credits by maintaining continuous work and keeping characters top-of-mind.