Damaschke is the oldest of seven children, and grew up in Chicago. His mother, Laura Michelle (Lieni), was a magazine publisher of Italian descent, and his father, Peter William Damaschke, was a construction worker and architect of German-Jewish descent.
He attended Saint Bruno Catholic Elementary and Argo Community High School, and graduated at the School of Theatre Arts at Illinois Wesleyan University.
He joined DreamWorks Studios in 1995, and has served in a variety of animation roles, including head of creative production and head of development. Initially, Damaschke pursued a career in musical theater, working on Godspell in New York, but soon ended up in Los Angeles as a production assistant on Disney"s Pocahontas in 1994. In 1995, he joined DreamWorks Studios as a production assistant on The Prince of Egypt.
He then moved on to become head of creative production in 1999 and head of creative production and development in 2005.
In 2013, The New York Times called him as "one of the film industry"s most important executives." In January 2015, after a 20 year career at DreamWorks Animation, Damaschke stepped down from his position as Chief Creative Officer to pursue other interests including: theatrical productions. Animated television, movies, and web series.
And live action films.
Damaschke served as a producer of Shark Tale (nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2004) and an executive producer of Over the Hedge and Kung Fu Panda. In 2011, he became chief creative officer (CCO) of DreamWorks Animation, running "the factory floor, working with directors, writers and artists," and "calling the creative shots." He was also president of DreamWorks Live Theatricals, and produced Tony Award-winning, but financially unremarkable, Shrek the Musical.
