Los Angeles – Stefan Guelpen, former Panasonic/Lumix sales and merchanding VP, has joined Flixel Photos as their president and member of the executive team.
Guelpen will report to Philippe LeBlanc, Flixel CEO and co-founder, who cited Guelpen’s “extensive background in starting and growing companies.”
“As Flixel is developing more sophisticated creation tools and proposing a distinctive approach to digital advertising through the lens of hybrid photography, Stefan’s unique blend of successful startup and corporate experience will greatly serve the company in its expansion across multiple sectors,” said LeBlanc.
In a statement, Guelpen said “Flixel is creating an exciting new dimension to photography and online advertising. I truly believe that Flixel’s technology to create living photos will introduce enthusiasts and pros to new creative and income opportunities, as well as being highly disruptive to the digital advertising industry.”
Flixel said Guelpen will have oversight of the strategic direction, expansion and operation of its general business and industry relationships, both in the photography and advertising sectors.
As an avid photographer, and PMDA board member, Guelpen has very close ties to the art and business of photography. In 2004, Guelpen founded Smartparts, and lead the business to a number one market share ranking for Digital Picture Frames in North America in four years.
Flixel is billed as “a leader in hybrid photography,” allowing users to create seamless moving images with Flixel Cinemagraph and Cinemagraph Pro for iOS.
Users select a specific area within a photograph to animate by “live-painting” the motion into the image.
The technique allows such effects as hair blowing in the wind or a flickering fire in the background of an otherwise still image.
Flixel’s “live-painting” technology lets artists preview living images in real time and output high-resolution moving pictures that comes in an easily sharable file size.
Flixel also provides one-stop technical and creative consulting to global entertainment franchises and major retail and other brands for which living photos offer the next major evolution in photography.
