Kamala Avila-Salmon will introduce programs to ensure global diversity for the studio's film and home entertainment product.
Lionsgate has named Kamala Avila-Salmon to lead inclusion and diversity efforts at the Hollywood studio's Motion Picture Group.
In her role as the movie division's first head of inclusive content, Avila-Salmon will work to ensure the studio's movie and home entertainment product reflects global diversity. Her hire comes as the major Hollywood studios are looking to change traditional practices amid an industry-wide reckoning with systemic racism.
"Lionsgate is committed to making films and telling stories that reflect the broader world around us. As a senior leader in the Motion Picture Group, Kamala will have the authority and support to help us better serve our audiences. Her expertise and leadership will be vital, but the work toward progress does not rest on her shoulders alone – it will require everyone at this studio to be dedicated in joining in her mandate, and we renew that dedication today,” Jen Hollingsworth, COO for Motion Picture Group, said in a statement.
Avila-Salmon, reporting to Hollingsworth, will work alongside Lionsgate's chief diversity officer Jamila Daniel and have a hand in the movie division's greenlight process, content development, production, casting, marketing, and international sales efforts.
She joins Lionsgate from Facebook, where she helped lead the social media platform's diversity and inclusion campaigns.
“Storytelling is the lifeblood of our society and the stories we see on the big screen shape how we see ourselves and others. Inclusive stories have the power to change our world and I am honored and humbled to partner with the amazing team at Lionsgate in the mission to get more of these stories into the world,” said Avila-Salmon in her own statement.
Before Facebook, Avila-Salmon worked in marketing at RCA Records and NBC Entertainment.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she immigrated to New York as a child with her parents.
Avila-Salmon is a graduate cum laude of Harvard University and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Article by: Etan Vlessing for The Hollywood Reporter
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