Oscars Academy Renews Bill Kramer’s Contract as CEO
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors has renewed the contract of AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer, who will now stay with the organization through July 2028.
Kramer took over the position in June 2022 after the departure of Dawn Hudson. His three-year contract with the Academy was originally not up for renewal until 2025, but the board renewed it a year early to secure his services for an additional three years.
“Bill is a dynamic and transformational leader, and the Board of Governors agrees he is the ideal person to continue to broaden the Academy’s reach and impact on our international film community and successfully guide the organization into our next 100 years,” Academy president Janet Yang said in a Monday statement.
Kramer first joined the Academy in 2012 and oversaw fundraising for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. He became director of the Academy Museum in 2020, during a time when the museum was under construction and its exhibition plans were transitioning from a survey of film history to one more focused on diversity and the contributions of underrepresented voices.
The executive recently oversaw the Academy100 revenue diversification and outreach program, which is designed to expand AMPAS’ worldwide scope and raise money in advance of the 100th Academy Awards ceremony in 2028.
According to the new press release, he will “continue to oversee all aspects of the Academy and its more than 700 employees in Los Angeles, New York and London.” Kramer will also “continue to lead the expansion and engagement of the Academy’s global membership, all awards programs including the Oscars, the institution’s education and emerging talent initiatives, the Academy’s extensive collection and preservation initiatives and its ongoing calendar of screenings and public programs.”
Over the next four years of Kramer’s time as CEO, the Academy will face questions about the role of its museum, the slump in theatrical moviegoing and the state of the Oscars’ TV deal with ABC, which expires in 2028 and may well be replaced by a less lucrative deal.
