Brian Backus Email & Phone Number

San Francisco, CA, US

Hello Wonder is fixing the internet for kids and families with AI. We block dangerous interactions and curate the best of educational and entertainment content from across the internet. We give parents effortless oversight and peace of mind, and kids the freedom to explore.

San Francisco, CA, US

Seattle, WA, US

• Led games on Amazon Glow, a console-to-mobile platform for game play and video calling. Owned portfolio and partner programs, and managed up to 11 Producers for both external and internal development. Directed.
• Produced and live operated 53 exclusive casual games in 2 years with the mission to engage a broad audience across genres, ages, and skills. Delivered 70% of all time spent on Glow.
• Scaled production by building a studio organization with 7 cross-functional pods to accelerate releases.
• Drove partnerships with 10 global game studios to develop a broad portfolio of casual games from action and puzzle to strategy, simulation and educational, shifting Glow’s model from internal to external production.
• Partnered with Business Development team to pitch, secure and implement licensing deals with Disney, Hasbro, Mattel, Spin Master, Nickelodeon, and Sesame Workshop.
• Developed metrics for Kibana / Redshift to drive portfolio allocation, inform Live Ops, and assess brand licenses.

New York City, NY, US

• Produced casual mobile games for NBCU and DreamWorks Animation. Managed global external game studio relationships to deliver on-time and budget. Partnered with design, engineering, business, and legal teams to deliver.
• Produced "Rotten Tomatoes Trivia," a fast-paced PvP mobile game with clips from classic and current movies and TV shows, in collaboration with Fandango and Amber Studio. Subscription, IAP, and ad monetization.
• Developed mobile interactive video network for kids with DreamWorks and SuperAwesome. Coordinated with movie and TV show stakeholders for "How to Train Your Dragon," "Trolls," and other properties to ensure IP.
• Collaborated with DreamWorks and Fingerprint Digital to develop mobile games for app stores and private children's game network.

San Francisco, California, US

• Led partnership team to secure city governments, Police, and Fire agencies across the U.S. Created local news product and launched with 50 top city newspapers and TV channels. Developed and monitored KPIs to drive.
• Developed geofencing tool (internal) for targeted posts to neighborhoods, to enable partnerships.
• Secured 1,008 new partnerships including FEMA and Red Cross, and live-operated 2,800 accounts.
• Connected 22M new households to safety agencies and news organizations.

Arlington, VA, US

Wrote the Prospectus for the Technology Catalyst Fund, which became the Sustainability Accelerator in partnership with TechStars. Selected for the role following pro-bono consulting work with HBS Community Partners.

SAN Francisco, CA, US

• "Mobile subscription service for children's animated picture books." Led partnerships, licensing and distribution. Built B2B channels. Created YouTube promotional show Storytime TV.
• Licensed 500+ animated storybook titles to Apple, Samsung, Cox and schools to add 20% to recurring revenue in year 1. Built Google and Amazon App store presences. Secured marketing partnership with Walmart.

• Strategic Advisor to CEOs of entertainment, education and technology startups. 16 clients included streaming subscription bundler, location-based entertainment park, iTV studio, transmedia publisher, homework app, and.
• Served in interim executive functions in Production, Business Development and Marketing to hit client funding, product development and sales milestones.

SAN Francisco, CA, US

• "Developer of casual mobile games, an online virtual world, and personalized home décor with licensed and original characters."Hired and led team of 14 design, technical and business professionals. Raised $4M from.
• Built 24 mobile games and digital media apps based on licensed characters and original Kreechurs art.
• Negotiated licenses with Disney, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, Marvel and VeggieTales, and secured distribution with Walmart, Walgreens, Toys “R” Us and Pottery Barn, Walgreens growing sales 400% in 2011.
• Co-authored US Patent 8418068, to enable low resolution web interfaces to generate high-resolution personalized image files for large format on-demand printing. “Awesome site that lets you create your own personalized.

• "Distiller of artisan liqueurs made with organic teas, citrus and spices."Led sales and secured U.S. and international distribution to achieve profitability in 18 months. Developed original spirits.
• Secured placement at The French Laundry, BevMo!, and hundreds of global fine dining and retail venues.“Best Summer Spirit” – Food & Wine“Deliciously smoky and ethereal” – New York Times

San Francisco, California, US

• "Software to share digital content via personalized 3D spaces and interactive bookmarks."Hired and led cross-functional team of 75 engineers, designers, and business professionals. Raised $11M from top venture firms..
• Secured partnerships with Amazon, Warner Bros, eBay, fifty+ others, with Patrick Stewart as spokesperson.
• Achieved 500K weekly active users in year 3. “The iMac of desktop management” – ZDNet“Hottest New Product” – Jupiter Communications

US

Developed customer segmentation plans for digital media companies, with focus on defining "personas" and marketing strategies.

Burbank, CA, US

• Supervised creative production of titles based on animated features. Led animation, script, asset engineering, game design and sound design.
• Produced the top-selling US interactive title of the year, "Hercules Animated StoryBook," on time and $340K under budget.
• Directed voice-over talent including Danny DeVito and James Woods.

• "Pioneer in digital entertainment and interactive experiences."
• Led content strategy, design, video direction, talent management, budget and IP acquisition for a portfolio of titles from concept through market release.
• Produced "Treasures of the American Museum of Natural History" and "Invisible Universe," awarded “Editor’s Choice” by Newsweek and “Most Creative Application of Technology in Higher Education” by SIGCAT respectively.

Master Of Business Administration - Mba, Business Management

Master Of Fine Arts - Mfa, Film Production

Bachelors (Ab), Biology, Magna Cum Laude; Minor In Film Production

Certificate In Visual Arts