The Princeton Varsity Club welcomed former Princeton squash teammates Jeff Ingold ’90 and Ted Price ’90 back to McCosh Hall for the Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series on Thursday, April 6th. The two entertainment executives brought plenty of laughs and wisdom to a crowd of students, staff and alumni wanting to learn more about their unique careers in the television and video game industries.
Click here for a photo gallery of the event.
Video highlights of the evening can be viewed below.
Ingold and Price shared the valuable lessons that they learned while playing squash for legendary coach Bob Callahan ’77 (D), and how these leadership skills prepared them for both the trials and triumphs they have faced within the entertainment industry. Both speakers shared unique stories of how they navigated their first jobs after college and ultimately changed career paths on their way to becoming two of the most recognizable television and video game producers in the world. Speaking to their personal experiences, they encouraged students to focus on the present moment and use their four years at Princeton to identify their passions before they begin their young careers.
During the conversation, each speaker also touched on the Princeton connections that they made early in their career and how they leaned on other alumni for advice as they navigated paths less traveled after college. They advised current students to seek out mentors in the career fields that interest them most and take advantage of the incredible alumni database available to them. By surrounding themselves with like-minded people, Ingold and Price noted that their journeys became less intimidating as they built friendships within the industry and grew into new roles as leaders.
The Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series was endowed in the name of J.L. “Jake” McCandless ’51, who coached Princeton to the 1969 Ivy League football championship during the Tigers’ centennial year of football. Click here for a list of past featured speakers.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FEATURED SPEAKERS
Jeff Ingold ’90, is the President of Bill Lawrence’s Doozer Productions at Warner Bros. Television. He just wrapped production on the third season of the two-time Emmy award winning series Ted Lasso, as well as Shrinking (starring Jason Segel and Harrison Ford) and Bad Monkey (starring Vince Vaughn), both for Apple TV+.
Prior to joining Doozer Productions, Ingold was the longtime comedy head at NBC. After rising through the ranks as a current executive on such hit NBC shows as Just Shoot Me, Will & Grace, and Scrubs, Ingold transitioned to the development team where he oversaw The Office. In 2006, Ingold was promoted to the head of NBC comedy under then President, Kevin Reilly. During the rest of his tenure, which included expanded oversight of Universal Television comedies in addition to NBC, Ingold supervised the critically acclaimed series 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation, And Community. When he left in 2011, Ingold’s title was Executive Vice President, NBC and Universal Comedy Series.
Ingold is a former squash captain and graduate of Princeton University (B.A. in History) and the USC Marshall School of Business. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.
Ted Price ’90 is President and Founder of Insomniac Games – a videogame developer with over 500 employees located across US and Canada, working remotely and onsite in its bi-coastal offices. In 2019 Insomniac was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Since 1994 Insomniac has created high profile game franchises in the console, VR, AR and mobile spaces. Some of its more popular creations include the Spyro the Dragon series, the Ratchet and Clank series, the Resistance: Fall of Man series, Sunset Overdrive and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Upcoming games include Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Marvel’s Wolverine for the PlayStation 5.
Insomniac’s games have sold over 100 million units worldwide since the company’s inception. Insomniac has also won numerous local, state and national workplace awards for its unique culture.
Price’s responsibilities at Insomniac include directing the company’s strategic planning and helping shape its culture as well as contributing to its projects. Price is also the Vice Chairman of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in English and was a four-year squash letterwinner.
