Wes Burke is the Co-Founder of Autotroph, where he works alongside Jonathan Williamson to support a fully remote, globally distributed team. Autotroph is a small, focused company with an outsized mission: helping creatives in the Blender ecosystem thrive through platforms and products such as CG Cookie, Orange Turbine, and Superhive.

Before moving into online education and creative platforms, Wes spent over a decade as an environment artist in the video game industry, working primarily in 3D Studio Max. His credits include titles Leisure Suit Larry, Ballers, Stranglehold, Family Guy, and Tony Hawk Shred.

Wes began his career after graduating from The Illinois Art Institute of Schaumburg and serving four years in the United States Coast Guard. He is an inaugural recipient of the Wade Ray Scholarship and was the 2015 AI-Schaumburg commencement speaker.

A lifelong science fiction fan, particularly Alien(s) and Tron, Wes draws creative influence from speculative worlds, both in his approach creating and in how he thinks about building systems, teams, and businesses.

He lives in Elburn, Illinois with his wife, son, and three daughters. Outside of work, he enjoys racing motorcycles and planning new adventures.