Autotroph is a small team and that’s how we like it! This means we all wear a lot of different hats, but from a high-level here is our company structure and key responsibilities.
Note, this list covers primary responsibilities only. Everyone below does more than listed, but their primary focus is specified.
Admin
Pat Karonย is primarily responsible for People Ops. Pat works with Wes and Jonathan to manage day-to-day operations of the company; human resources, benefits, and event planning. Pat is the best person to tap first if you have a benefits question.
Executive
We have two Executives on the Autotroph Team
Wes Burke is our Managing Director and works closely with our Director to oversee the business as a whole. He is principally responsible for setting the overall direction and organization of the company. Wes spends a lot of his time talking with the team and keeping a pulse on industry trends. He was the creator of CG Cookie back in 2008.
Jonathan Williamson is our Director and works with the Managing Director on the overall business with a key focus on all financial matters. He helps the team work more effectively, efficiently and happily.
Jonathan has been working with Wes since 2008 and became a partner of CG Cookie in 2010.
Education Team
The Education Team works on creating new training material for CG Cookie while engaging with the community. Kent Trammell is the department lead and works with Wayne Dixon, Paul Caggegi, and a handful of contractors. Amber Kelly manages the content production pipeline.
Consulting Team
The newest addition to Autotroph, this team led by Jason van Gumster, offers consulting to studios and enterprise-level companies in their use and adoption of Blender as well as 1:1 coaching for individuals looking to develop as a 3D professional.
Product and Engineering
Directed by Kyle Maurer, the Product team is responsible for the maintenance and continued development of the platforms powering each of our brands. Our lead developer Rom Robotnik is responsible for all code reviews while also leading projects and mentoring other developers. Roy Flores, Raquel Fraktas, Justin Zimmerman, and Hayley Witherell are software developers and make up the rest of this team.
Support and Community
Amber Kelly is the Director of the Support & Community team. Her department is responsible for all direct interactions with our customers, members, and creators. Her team consists of Matthew Muldoon, Ryan Berger, Andrew Marchetti, and Adrian Bellworthy.
Marketing
The Marketing team is led by Jason van Gumster with contributions from Pavla Karon. Marketing is responsible for all of our external outreach including advertising, social media, partnerships, sponsorships, and more.
Finance
All monetary matters, including company finances, regulatory compliance, and processing routine transactions is handled by the Finance team. Ryan Berger is the primary contributor on this team, under the direction of Jonathan Williamson.
Design
Everything visual from branding to marketing assets to documentation and more are under the purview of our Design department which is lead by Kyle Unzicker.