AFCEA/USNI WEST 2022

Bran Ferren
Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer
Applied Minds


Chief Creative Officer of Applied Minds LLC – which providing advanced technology, creative design and consulting services to a variety of government and commercial clients – Ferren is enjoying a distinguished career, contributing to business and product development, film & entertainment, photography, aerospace and the sciences. Before co-founding Applied Minds, he held various leadership positions, including president of the Walt Disney Company's R&D, where he advised senior leadership on emerging technology opportunities and led the development of key innovations at Imagineering, and for other divisions, such as ABC television. Prior, he was president of Associates & Ferren, a company acquired by Disney. Ferren focuses much of his time on innovation and organizational development projects that help organizations grow, move into new sectors, and redefine product offerings and brand positioning in the face of rapidly changing business challenges. He is also a prolific inventor, named on over 550 domestic and foreign patent applications and more than 240 issued patents. Past and present clients include Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, General Motors, Sony, Herman Miller, Intel Corporation, Air Force Research Lab, the Smithsonian & the Library of Congress. He has also served as a senior advisory board member or consultant for science, advanced technology and innovation to more than a dozen U.S. government and military agencies, and the U.S. Senate. An Oscar-nominated visual effects designer and Academy Award winner for Science and Technical Achievement, Ferren’s work has appeared in films such as Altered States and Little Shop of Horrors. Theater credits include award-winning special effects, lighting and sound design for Broadway shows including Evita, Cats and the Lion King. Despite his wide and varied successes across industries, Ferren’s daughter Kira is his most important accomplishment, his highest priority project and, by far, his best work to date.

Sessions :