Bob Daly to step down as chair of AFI board after 17 years

Mixed · 2Bob Daly will step down as chair of the American Film Institute's board of directors at the board meeting on Wednesday, 21 October, after 17 years in the role. 1 2 Mixed · 2Daly joined the AFI board in April 1981 and was named chair on 8 October 2009, succeeding co-chairs Jon Avnet and John Cooke; Deadline counts 45 years as a trustee. 1 2 Centre · 1Deadline reports that a successor will be discussed at the 21 October meeting, and that an AFI representative said Daly is stepping down to pass the torch to the next generation. 2

Mixed · 2In a statement, Daly called serving as AFI board chair "one of the greatest honors" of his career and said the board brings together the film and television communities in a shared passion for the art form. 1 2 Mixed · 2AFI president and CEO Bob Gazzale praised Daly's leadership, saying that over the past 40 years no one has had a greater impact on AFI's work in preservation, celebration and education. 1 2 Mixed · 2Daly began at CBS in 1955 and spent 25 years there, rising to president overseeing all television operations, according to Variety; he then joined Warner Bros. in 1980 as chairman and co-CEO with Terry Semel. 1 2

Mixed · 2Daly and Semel were credited with 16 consecutive years of record earnings at Warner Bros.; Variety adds that the studio released 13 Best Picture Oscar nominees in that time, including winners "Chariots of Fire," "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Unforgiven." 1 2 Mixed · 2Daly later served as chair and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers, which he sold in 2004, and chaired the charity Save the Children. 1 2 Left · 1AFI, founded in 1967, is a nonprofit that preserves film heritage, honours artists and educates new storytellers; Variety notes that former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy chairs the separate AFI Board of Trustees, whose members include Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan and Ted Sarandos. 1