Julie Carson

Born: Jan. 31, 1971 (28)

Head of Finance and Business Development

DreamWorks Interactive

Some days Julie Carson is on the phone to Europe before the sun rises. Other days stretch well into night as she works on a deal in Asia.

“I love deals,” she says.

As a member of the four-person executive team for DreamWorks Interactive, she negotiates every point the amount of the advance to be paid, royalties, the size of the marketing campaign, international rights, and ancillary rights for television, movies and comic books. She also sets the milestones and delivery dates.

“She’s one of those rare people who has every base covered very aggressive and entrepreneurial. She can smell an opportunity,” said Glenn Entis, chief executive of DreamWorks Interactive.

All DreamWorks Interactive business goes across her desk, including product proposals, financial issues, contracts and market research. She also plays an integral role in the greenlighting of any project the firm decides to do.

“My job is to make everything work, from business development to operations and management,” she says.

Among the more lucrative deals Carson has handled were those involving “Small Soldiers,” a movie produced by parent company DreamWorks SKG. Carson finalized the licensing terms for the interactive property rights, then negotiated with Hasbro to publish a PC version of the game and with Electronic Arts for a PlayStation version. Sales of “Small Soldiers” interactive games have totaled 750,000 units to date.

Carson went to school at Harvard, during which time she was director of an inner-city educational program for children. After graduating with honors with a degree in economics, she landed a job in her hometown of Pittsburgh as a business analyst with McKinsey & Co.

When she decided to leave McKinsey in early 1996, she thought it would be “cool” to work for DreamWorks. Within a week she had landed the interview and gotten the job.

As for her future, Carson says, “I’ve always surprised myself about where I end up, so I’ve stopped deciding and started to just see where things take me.”

Michael Fisher