Nicholas de Wolff
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Adams de Wolff is a writer, business strategist and marketing executive, and longtime Media and Entertainment industry pioneer. His career spans multiple creative and business platforms, including theatrical, film, fashion, retail, TV, and New Media. He recently began working with businesses and governments in the field of sustainability, helping to drive policy and reforms in urban design and transportation.
, Switzerland on May 6, 1970. He spent the first 5 years of his life living in Portugal
, where he studied at the Lycée Français Charles Lepierre. During the turbulent period of the country’s PREC, de Wolff and most of his family moved to London
, England, where he transferred into the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
to continue his studies. After another 9 years in British boarding schools, de Wolff enrolled at Duke University
, where he studied English Literature and was concurrently part of the school’s famed “Actor’s Sequence” Professional Actor Training Program, under Dr. Robert L. Hobbs.
For the past 15 years, he has been deeply involved in New Media business ventures, including Internet, social media, M&E technologies, IP, and mobile communications.
de Wolff has written and been quoted in a diverse array of articles and reviews on business strategy, media topics and marketing trends (with particular focus on social media), in a variety of publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, Produced By Magazine, Screen Actor Magazine, and The Networker, among others. He is regularly sought after to speak to corporations and associations on emerging marketing trends and brand positioning challenges.
Until recently, de Wolff served as a Chief Marketing Officer at Technicolor (formerly Thomson
), one of the world’s largest media and entertainment technology providers. While at Technicolor, de Wolff directed a review of - and implemented new initiatives in - the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility
activity, launching a variety of new programs to heighten the firm’s attention to its environmental and community responsibilities, as a global sustainability steward. From there he was elected to serve on the Sustainability Commission for the City of Burbank
(Media Capital of the World), where he has been responsible for driving a concerted effort toward redefining municipal mobility and urban design efforts, to accommodate urban density shifts and alternative transportation options. In January 2010, he was elected Chair of the city's related subcommittees on Urban Design and Transportation.
Previously, de Wolff was Vice President and Group Creative Director of Dream Theatre, a leading digital production studio. There, he oversaw some of the earliest promotional campaigns on the Web for clients including Disney, the Jim Henson Company and Sony
. Many of the web productions he oversaw are considered groundbreaking in their use (and reverse engineering in some cases) of available technologies, and several received Promax awards for creative direction and interactive production.
de Wolff is a co-founder of the Producers Guild of America’s New Media Council
, which published a landmark document in 2010 entitled "The Producers Guild of America
New Media Code of Credits". He is also a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and has served several times on the jury for the Primetime Emmy Awards. Additionally, he is a member of the advisory boards of the CMO Institute, the Charter High School for the Arts, National Film Festival for Talented Youth, American Lung Association, and the Business Marketing Association, as well as a founding member of the Digital Watermarking Alliance.
Life and Work
de Wolff was born in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland on May 6, 1970. He spent the first 5 years of his life living in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, where he studied at the Lycée Français Charles Lepierre. During the turbulent period of the country’s PREC, de Wolff and most of his family moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, where he transferred into the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
The Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle is a large French primary and secondary school situated in South Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London...
to continue his studies. After another 9 years in British boarding schools, de Wolff enrolled at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where he studied English Literature and was concurrently part of the school’s famed “Actor’s Sequence” Professional Actor Training Program, under Dr. Robert L. Hobbs.
For the past 15 years, he has been deeply involved in New Media business ventures, including Internet, social media, M&E technologies, IP, and mobile communications.
de Wolff has written and been quoted in a diverse array of articles and reviews on business strategy, media topics and marketing trends (with particular focus on social media), in a variety of publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, Produced By Magazine, Screen Actor Magazine, and The Networker, among others. He is regularly sought after to speak to corporations and associations on emerging marketing trends and brand positioning challenges.
Until recently, de Wolff served as a Chief Marketing Officer at Technicolor (formerly Thomson
Thomson SA
Technicolor SA , formerly Thomson SA and Thomson Multimedia, is a French international provider of solutions for the creation, management, post-production, delivery and access of video, for the Communication, Media and Entertainment industries. Technicolor’s headquarters are located in Issy les...
), one of the world’s largest media and entertainment technology providers. While at Technicolor, de Wolff directed a review of - and implemented new initiatives in - the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...
activity, launching a variety of new programs to heighten the firm’s attention to its environmental and community responsibilities, as a global sustainability steward. From there he was elected to serve on the Sustainability Commission for the City of Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
(Media Capital of the World), where he has been responsible for driving a concerted effort toward redefining municipal mobility and urban design efforts, to accommodate urban density shifts and alternative transportation options. In January 2010, he was elected Chair of the city's related subcommittees on Urban Design and Transportation.
Previously, de Wolff was Vice President and Group Creative Director of Dream Theatre, a leading digital production studio. There, he oversaw some of the earliest promotional campaigns on the Web for clients including Disney, the Jim Henson Company and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
. Many of the web productions he oversaw are considered groundbreaking in their use (and reverse engineering in some cases) of available technologies, and several received Promax awards for creative direction and interactive production.
de Wolff is a co-founder of the Producers Guild of America’s New Media Council
New Media Council
New Media Council was formed by the Producers Guild of America in 2002, in order to recognize, represent, and protect producers working in emerging media such as DVDs, broadband and mobile entertainment, interactive television and console games....
, which published a landmark document in 2010 entitled "The Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 4,700 members of the producing establishment worldwide...
New Media Code of Credits". He is also a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and has served several times on the jury for the Primetime Emmy Awards. Additionally, he is a member of the advisory boards of the CMO Institute, the Charter High School for the Arts, National Film Festival for Talented Youth, American Lung Association, and the Business Marketing Association, as well as a founding member of the Digital Watermarking Alliance.