Daniel Langlois

Daniel Langlois (born 1957) is the president and founder of the Daniel Langlois Foundation, Ex-Centris, and Media Principia Inc.

Daniel Langlois also founded Softimage Inc., serving as its president and chief technology officer from November 1986 to July 1998. The company is recognized in the fields of cinema and media creation for its digital technologies and especially its 3-D computer animation techniques. Softimage software was used to create most of the dazzling 3-D effects in the blockbuster movies Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, The Matrix, Titanic, Men in Black, Twister, Jurassic Park, The Mask and The City of Lost Children.

Before establishing Softimage Inc., Mr. Langlois earned a bachelor of design degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal. He also worked eight years as a film director and animator for private companies and the National Film Board of Canada. During this time, he made contributions to the film industry and especially to the field of computer graphics. In addition, he has gained recognition for his work on Transitions, first stereoscopic 3-D computer animation in IMAX format (presented at Expo 86). He also had a hand in the 1985 film Tony de Peltrie, which has garnered several international awards.

Mr. Langlois has received many honours throughout his career. In 1994, Ernst & Young chose him as Canada's national entrepreneur of the year. The University of Sherbrooke bestowed an honorary doctorate degree in administration on Mr. Langlois in 1996. In 1997, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with a Scientific and Technical Oscar.

In 1999, he became a Knight of the National Order of Quebec and was named as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000.