M+E Daily

By Lyndsey Schaefer

“Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” This sentiment of Albert Einstein about Gandhi truly describes Jeff Mirich, as he fought death like no other with an uncanny positive attitude where life always seemed normal.

“The entertainment industry has lost a beacon of light in the world of business driven by technology,” says Devendra Mishra, Executive Director of the Hollywood IT Society (HITS). “Jeff inspired one and all of us with his extraordinary character and personality. He was the epitome of life, love and family. He was a friend and mentor who will never be forgotten.”

The members of the HITS Advisory Board, comprised of the CIOs of the Hollywood studios, presented their unprecedented acknowledgment called the Variety “HIT Maker” Award for IT Leadership in Hollywood to Jeff Mirich in March of this year. The award recognized his outstanding contributions as an IT Executive for advancing the entertainment industry through the deployment of information systems and technology.

Mirich, who was Senior Vice President for Advanced Technology Projects at Walt Disney Studios since October 2011 and formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, has been a visionary and a relentless warrior driving collaboration among the studios and their service providers through supply chain standardization and establishing cross-studio shared-system platforms to increase efficiency and drive down operational costs. Jeff Mirich was the soul of the Hollywood IT Society (HITS).

He had been instrumental in providing business and technology systems that supported the film, music, live stage, production, post production, marketing and distribution business unit operations on a global scale. In the middle of the industry’s rapid transition to digital production and distribution processes, Mirich led Walt Disney Studios through this transition, focusing on expanding and enhancing their premiere family entertainment products, services, and content offerings and increasing global market presence and relevance through the use of innovative technology applications, creative tools, and new distribution platforms.

Mirich joined Disney in late 1997 as the CIO of Imagineering. Prior to joining Disney, Mirich enjoyed a 19-year career with Northrop Grumman Corporation, where he held managerial positions in information systems, engineering, manufacturing, business development, research and development, and mergers and acquisitions. During Mirich’s tenure at Northrop he led the development and implementation of their 3-D paperless computer aided design and manufacturing processes and helped spearhead industry and government engineering design practices and data interchange standards. Mirich had a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology from California State University at Long Beach and a Master’s degree in Management from the University of Redlands.

He regularly lectured at local universities on topics ranging from information technology to intellectual property management within the media and entertainment industry. He was a past board member on UCLA Anderson School’s IS Associates and WINMEC University-Industry Partnership, USC’s ETC/IMF sponsorship group, HP’s Communications Media & Entertainment Board of Advisors, the CIO Leadership Network, Southern California CIO Executive Summit Governing Body, The Business Forum, The Hollywood IT Summit, and served on Sierra Venture’s CIO Advisory Board. Mirich is survived by his wife Charlene and son Jeffrey Charles.