BAFTA CEO Amanda Berry Stepping Down In 2023

BAFTA CEO Amanda Berry is leaving her post in 2023 after a 25-year tenure at the awards body, the org announced today.

BAFTA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Price has also announced he will leave in September 2022 after 20 years working alongside Berry.

“When I first joined BAFTA I honestly thought I would stay for three or four years, but my passion, dreams and ambition for the organization just kept growing. As we approach BAFTA’s 75th anniversary next year I have reflected on what I, Kevin and the truly brilliant team at BAFTA have achieved, and it feels like the right time to plan to pass on the mask,” said Berry.

The chief exec will oversee the recruitment process for Price’s replacement next year, while the BAFTA board will convene to begin looking for a new CEO to appoint in 2023.

Berry first joined BAFTA in 1998 and became chief executive in 2000. She was instrumental in the recent £34M redevelopment of the org’s London HQ, as well as its proliferation abroad, with branches now operational in Los Angeles, New York, Glasgow and Cardiff.

She also put a priority on addressing representation concerns at the BAFTA Film Awards, which came to a head after the 2020 nominations that were widely criticized for a lack of diversity. The body implemented numerous changes to its voting procedures the following year to address those concerns, and the 2021 nominations field were seen as a step in the right direction.

Prior to joining BAFTA, Berry worked as a theatrical agent and in television production.

“Amanda has been a loyal and outstanding Chief Executive of BAFTA for over 23 years. Under her leadership she has cemented BAFTA’s annual Film Awards ceremony as one of the most important and credible film industry occasions in the world. Her passion for supporting talent and her steadfast belief that ‘talent is everywhere but opportunity is not’ is evident in the huge expansion of BAFTA’s year-round global learning and talent development program,” commented Krishnendu Majumdar, BAFTA Chair.

“From creating the ‘Brits to Watch’ in 2011 which has gone on to become the globally recognized talent initiative Breakthrough, to the well over 200 learning and new talent events that BAFTA delivers every year, Amanda has ensured BAFTA’s purpose has stayed at the heart of the organization. When she steps down in 2023 she will leave a very different organization to the one she joined in 1998 and when the time comes I will be the first to wish her continued success,” Majumdar added.

Price oversaw operations, resources, business strategy, finances, governance and charity outreach during his tenure at BAFTA. He was previously Commercial Director for the international examinations board Trinity College London.

“With the reopening of a new 195 Piccadilly next year, I believe we are beginning a new phase in BAFTA’s historical journey.  We shall look back at the 2000s, 2010s and the early 2020s as the ‘Berry years’ and I feel privileged to have been part of that journey.  After 20 years working with Amanda, I believe now is the right time for me to pursue other interests across the arts and cultural sector.  I will be incredibly proud to leave BAFTA in a strong position with great potential for further growth, and to allow a successor to help lead this Great British Institution through its next era,” commented Price.