Steve Jobs became Pixar’s chief executive officer in 1986.
Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm in 1986 and established it as an independent company called Pixar. He became the company’s chief executive and chairman, while Ed Catmull helped lead its technical and organizational development.
At first, Pixar’s business focused heavily on hardware and computer-animation technology. Its RenderMan software later became important in visual effects, while the company’s short films demonstrated the possibilities of computer animation. Pixar’s feature-film breakthrough came later with Toy Story, released in 1995.
The year 1986 is often confused with 1995 because Toy Story made Pixar globally famous and Jobs became a prominent public figure during the company’s rapid growth. However, Jobs had already been Pixar’s CEO for nine years before Toy Story reached cinemas.