After 17 years of leadership, Bob Daly will step down as chair of the American Film Institute Board of Directors at the next trustee meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, Variety can reveal exclusively.
Daly, former Warner Bros. chair and co-CEO, joined the AFI Board in April 1981 and was named chair on Oct. 8, 2009, succeeding co-chairs Jon Avnet and John Cooke.
“In a career that brought me from running CBS to Warner Bros. to the Los Angeles Dodgers, I can honestly say that serving as Chairman of the AFI Board of Directors has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Daly. “This is a board that represents all aspects of the film and television communities, and to see they come together with a shared passion for the art form has been a wonder to behold. Long live the AFI!”
Daly’s expansive history in Hollywood touched some of the most powerful institutions in the entertainment business, including CBS Entertainment, Warner Music Group, the Los Angeles Dodgers and, of course, Warner Bros. He began his career at CBS as a gofer in 1955. He spent 25 years at the network and eventually served as its president, overseeing all television operations. After his time at CBS, Daly joined Warner Bros. as chairman and co-CEO in 1980. During his 19 years at the studio, he and his co-CEO, Terry Semel, were credited with 16 consecutive years of record earnings. They also supervised the release of 13 Best Picture Oscar nominees, and snagged three wins with “Chariots of Fire,” “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Unforgiven.”
Following his time at WB, Daly joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as chair and CEO for four years before selling the team in 2004. Daly also served as chair of the charity Save the Children.
“Leadership is an art in itself — and in that regard, Mr. Daly is a master,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president & CEO. “Over the past forty years, no single person has had a greater impact on AFI’s work in preservation, celebration and education than Bob Daly — and we have promised to march forward each day with a promise to prove him proud.”
The AFI, founded in 1967, is a nonprofit organization created to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. Former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy serves as chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, which includes Pam Abdy, Sean Astin, Alan Bergman, Halle Berry, Jim Breyer, James L. Brooks, Ava DuVernay, Jamie Erlicht, Mike Hopkins, Alan Horn, Patty Jenkins, Michael B. Jordan, Donna Langley, Eva Longoria, Bryan Lourd, Christopher Nolan, Edward James Olmos, Shonda Rhimes, Charles Rivkin, Jay Roach, Ted Sarandos, Chris Silbermann, Octavia Spencer, Steven Spielberg, Todd Wagner and Edward Zwick.