Friday, July 18, 2008

Visual effects software maker GenArts appoints Katherine Hays to CEO

By Mass High Tech Staff

GenArts Inc. report that former Massive Inc. chief operating officer and co-founder Katherine Hays has been appointed GenArts’ CEO.

Karl Sims, the founder and president of Cambridge-based GenArts, will continue playing a leading role in the company, focusing on building new software, officials said.

GenArts, founded in 1996, provides visual effects software for the film, broadcast and video industries. The company produces Sapphire Plug-ins, a collection of more than 200 image processing and synthesis effects.

Hays helped found New York-based Massive Inc., which was acquired by Microsoft Corp. in 2006. Insight Venture Partners, a New York-based private equity and venture capital firm, invested an undisclosed amount of capital in GenArts in February.