Sam Ketay ’95
Sam Ketay ’95, an award-winning filmmaker and marketing executive, is video director and vice president in marketing for Dimensional Fund Advisors, a global investment firm headquartered in Austin, Texas. Ketay is also executive producer and director of Nice Bike Films, a production company he founded in 2015 through which he has gained wide recognition for his short documentaries for nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations.
Ketay, who graduated from Skidmore with a degree in anthropology and a minor in Asian
studies, was drawn early on to the world’s diverse cultures and histories. Shortly
after graduation, he interned at National Geographic TV in Washington, D.C. — a move
that would define his career.
“Getting that internship was a mix of good timing and luck. I hadn’t ever studied film and television, but I’d always loved National Geographic documentaries,” he says.
He would spend the next five years honing his skills as a camera assistant in New York City before earning his MFA in film from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. Some of his most memorable career experiences during this time include working on a National Geographic documentary about Airforce One that took him on the plane with former President Bill Clinton for a week across the country.
He also spent a month at sea on an exploration vessel to film the search and recovery of the lost space capsule, Liberty Bell 7, piloted by astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom on a Project Mercury mission.
Ketay’s Nice Bike Films projects include directing and filming a documentary for international nonprofit TechnoServe in Rwanda, where he showcased the positive impact of community training on coffee production. The film won a Silver Dolphin in 2019 from the prestigious Cannes Corporate Media and TV Awards festival in France. His documentaries have also been featured at the Mountainfilm Festival in Colorado, DOC NYC festival, San Francisco Documentary Festival, and Independent Film Festival Boston.
Ketay has also competed as a triathlete over the past 10 years. In 2023, he celebrated a triumphant season by winning his age group at the Malibu Triathlon in California. All told, he has raced 14 triathlons over the last three years, winning 11 first-place finishes in his age group and taking second place in two of them.
