Talks Held

A Girl Crying on a Park Bench...

Emotions in VR

Maureen is CEO and co-founder of Baobab Studios, the industry's leading VR animation studio. The company's Emmy-award winning VR animation, “Invasion!” starring Ethan Hawke, launched to substantial critical acclaim, with Roth Kirschenbaum Films (Maleficent, Snow White and the Huntsman, Alice in Wonderland) signed on to adapt it into a feature film. Right out of the gate, Baobab Studios garnered laurels from film festivals globally, from Tribeca to Cannes. The animation is one of the most downloaded experiences on major VR players including Oculus, Samsung, Within, Hulu and others. Baobab’s second animation ASTEROIDS! starring Elizabeth Banks was an official 2017 Sundance Film Festival selection and their latest Rainbow Crow, starring John Legend, Diego Luna, and Constance Wu made its premiere at Tribeca Film Festival this year.

Maureen has held leadership roles in film, gaming and the consumer web. She was most recently vice president of games at Zynga, where she oversaw three game studios including the FarmVille sequel, which contributed to 40 percent of the company’s revenues. Previously, she worked on Pixar's “Toy Story 3” film and at eBay in product management and UI design. Her most recent collaboration, “The Dam Keeper,” directed by Dice Tsutsumi and Robert Kondo, was nominated for the 2015 Oscar Best Animated Short. Maureen was also named one of ‘The Most Creative People of the Year’ by Ad Age for 2016. She received her undergraduate degree in an interdisciplinary program in computer science, art and psychology from Stanford University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and earned her master’s degree in business from Harvard University.