PRESIDENT’S report / 2021
T
he year 2021 turned out to be a second year of operating the International Academy in the middle of a pandemic and in an environment where our members had many challenges in traveling from country to country.
Nonetheless, and for all the difficulties during the year, the annual International Emmy® Awards Gala took place in person in New York on November 22nd. Five hundred people took their seats in the ballroom of the new Casa Cipriani and watched one of the Academy’s most exciting Galas in recent memory. The Gala was the only live event of the year and even it had a virtual component, to accommodate nominees and Academy members who still could not leave their home countries. Other Board & Members Meetings during the year were held virtually. The March meeting featured as a speaker Bela Bajaria, the Head of Global TV at Netflix, who was interviewed by Nellie Andreeva, Co-Editor-in-Chief TV at Deadline, and gave a compelling explanation of Netflix operating style and future plans in a much more competitive streaming environment. The November Board Meeting featured Simon Sutton, a former President of HBO and now the head of Luminary, the podcasting company, whose talk was entitled “Is Podcasting the new frontier of storytelling?” In his television days Simon was a Board member and Secretary of the Academy, and it was great to have him back. 4
INTERNATIONAL EMMY® MAGAZINE 2021 / 2022
PRESIDENT & CEO BRUCE PAISNER
Throughout the year, the Academy expanded and built on its innovative M+ virtual sessions, an opportunity for members to network with each other and hear from fellow members in both a formal presentation and informal discussions. Among the people who headlined M+ sessions this year were Ed Wells, EVP and Head of Global Media and Education at Sesame Workshop, and Nicolas Atlan, President of Gaumont USA.
