Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1520492
38 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2024 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE Star Wars and Disney: 'Spinning the Script' with Paul Bailey by Barry Matties, Dylan Nguyen, and Tobey Marsicovetere Paul Bailey has quite a story to tell. The cur- rent vice president at AOA, and former prin- cipal concept technical director for Walt Dis- ney Imagineering gave the opening keynote speech at IPC APEX EXPO 2024. He delved into some of the technological marvels he's been involved with throughout his career, particularly with Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the new Star Wars experience at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Paul also urged the leaders in the audience to change the way they lead and focus more on each employee's well-being. After his keynote speech, Paul stopped by the I-Connect007 studio for a quick interview, where he shared his thoughts on technology and leadership. Dylan Nguyen: Paul, I've been reading about your background How did you balance your two identities as artist and engineer early on? Paul Bailey: I never saw art and engineering as different identities, frankly. I didn't really know what engineering was; I just grew up in an environment where it happened. I thought, "Well, people make things, and they tinker, and they do stuff." It wasn't until much later that it clicked in my head that this was actually a calling or profession. I think part of life is about recognizing patterns. A lot of the things that you do as a mechanical engineer involve creat- ing shapes that solve problems, which to me is analogous to sculpting. You might be using SolidWorks to do it, but it's still sculpture. So, in my mind there really isn't