Academy CEO Dawn Hudson to Step Down When Contract Ends in 2023

Angelique Jackson
·3 min read
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After a decade as CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Dawn Hudson announced Monday that her current term will be her last.

Hudson joined the Academy as CEO in 2011 and will relinquish her post when her contract ends in May 2023. The Academy also announced that a search for Hudson’s successor will soon be underway, and that she will have “a vital role in the transition.”

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“After more than ten years and the incredibly successful opening of our new museum, I’ve decided, when this term concludes, it will be time for me to explore other opportunities and adventures as this can hardly be topped,” Hudson said in a statement explaining her decision.

“We’ve achieved so much together that’s been most important to me — our ongoing commitment to representation and inclusion; adapting the Academy into a digitally sophisticated global institution; and creating the world’s premier movie museum that will be the destination of film fans for decades,” Hudson continued. “The Board of Governors and I are mutually committed to a seamless transition to new leadership. I’m excited for what the future holds, for both the Academy and for me.”

News of Hudson’s next steps come after the successful launch of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which opened to the public in September. The development of the museum was just one of the many initiatives in which Hudson played a primary role.

As CEO, Hudson also oversees the Academy’s 450-person staff in Los Angeles, New York and London; operations and outreach, including awards, membership, marketing, communications, finance and technology; and the Academy Foundation, which includes educational initiatives, fellowships and grants, the Margaret Herrick Library and the Academy Film Archive.

Under Hudson’s leadership, the Academy also worked to increase diversity among its ranks with the implementation of diversity, inclusion and representation initiatives across the Academy membership, governance and staff. During her tenure, the organization more than doubled the number of women and underrepresented ethnic/racial communities through the A2020 initiative, bringing in the most diverse class in the organization’s history in 2020. Hudson also oversaw the creation of Aperture 2025, which established inclusion standards for Oscars eligibility.

Last year, the organization’s Board of Governors announced that Hudson had re-upped her deal and would continue in her role through May 2023.

“Dawn has been, and continues to be, a groundbreaking leader for the Academy,” Academy President David Rubin added. “Advancements in the diversity and gender parity of our membership, our increased international presence, and the successful opening of a world-class Academy Museum — a project she revived, guided and championed — are already part of her legacy. I know the Board of Governors joins me in looking forward to our collaboration with Dawn in the many months ahead, as we map out a plan for succession.”

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