John Lasseter

Lasseter isthe pioneering executive who built Emeryville, Calif.-based Pixar Animation Studios into an entertainment juggernaut and helped revive Disney’s once-struggling animation business. In November 2017 he announced he is taking a six-month leave of absence, citing unspecified “missteps.” People close to the studio said several female employees had complained internally about their interactions with the executive. In June 2018, Disney announced he would take on a consulting role at the company until the end of the year and then leave permanently. He will not have an office in the interim. Mr. Lasseter’s camp contended that he had been unfairly swept up in the Time’s Up movement and that his behavior did not warrant his ouster. But retaining Mr. Lasseter would have divided employees, leaving some women particularly unhappy. Mr. Lasseter also operates a winery in Sonoma County with his wife, Nancy. After graduating from the California Institute of the Arts, Mr. Lasseter started his animation career at Disney in 1978 but was fired a few years later. Mr. Lasseter, shuttling endlessly by jet between Northern and Southern California, was also given a role at Imagineering, Disney’s theme-park research and design division, where he advised on popular, Pixar-based attractions like Cars Land and Toy Story Mania. He also had major input at Disney Consumer Products, the world’s No. 1 licenser.