Entertainment executive Frank Scherma has been elected as the Television Academy’s new chairman and CEO, the organization announced Friday. The Academy also announced newly elected members of its board of directors who, like Scherma, will serve a two year term ending Dec. 31, 2020.
Scherma is president and cofounder of global production studio RadicalMedia, which has produced a range of projects including commercials, feature films, television, music programming, graphic, interactive design and VR content. Past RadicalMedia projects include “The Fog of War,” the pilot episode of “Mad Men,” National Geographic’s “Mars,” and “Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru.” Scherma and Radical media have won Emmys, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, Grammys, Webbys, The Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Communication Design, and two Palme d’Ors.
Scherma most recently served as Vice Chair for the Academy’s board of governors during the 2017-2018 term, before that holding the position of second Vice Chair, and has served several terms as the governor of the Commercials Peer Group. He also served on the Creative Arts Emmy Awards Show Committee, Membership Committee, Governors Award Selection Committee, Digital Strategy Committee and on the Television Academy Foundation’s Board of Directors, among other positions. Scherma is also on the board of Los Angeles nonprofit ThinkLA.
“As our industry continues to evolve faster than ever, I am committed to ensuring that the Television Academy is at the forefront of this growth,” Scherma said in a statement. “Television is more exciting than ever, and I look forward to the new adventures and challenges we will face. I’m excited and humbled to take up this mantle.”
Other newly elected Academy officers for the 2019-2020 term include: Steve Venezia, Vice Chair; Tim Gibbons, Second Vice Chair; Sharon Lieblein, Secretary; Allison Binder, Treasurer; and Mitch Waldow, Los Angeles Area Vice Chair.