Helga Stephenson, is a Canadian film industry

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

, who served as CEO of the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

from 2011 to 2016."Paying tribute to a true film world visionary". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', March 22, 2015. Following her departure from the Academy, she was made a member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official Award, honour in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the A ...

Background

Stephenson was born and raised in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Her aunt was the wife of

John David Eaton John David Eaton (4 October 1909 – 4 August 1973) was a Canadian businessman and a member of the prominent Eaton family. He was the second son of Sir John Craig Eaton and Lady Eaton of Toronto, Ontario. He was married to Signy Stefansson, a ...

. She studied film and communications at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

, graduating in 1969, and travelled to work internationally for some time before joining the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

as a

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...

Career

Festival of Festivals

She later worked in Toronto as a partner in a film and television publicity agency,"Toronto film festival elevates interim director to top position". ''

'', December 20, 1986. before joining the Festival of Festivals in 1978."Helga Stephenson maps the future of Toronto's international film fete: First lady of the Festival of Festivals". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', January 24, 1987. In 1980, she was coproducer with Henk Van der Kolk and Bill Marshall of '' Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave''. In 1982, she was promoted to communications director of the festival."Festival's Stephenson steps down; Piers Handling appointed". ''

'', March 4, 1994. In September 1986 she was appointed interim director of the festival after the board dismissed Leonard Schein, and she was named the permanent new director in December. She remained in the role until 1994, when she stepped down and was succeeded by Piers Handling. Her term as director of the festival was widely credited with securing its contemporary reputation as one of the world's most prestigious film festivals. She stepped down shortly after the festival changed its name from Festival of Festivals to the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

Other activities

She then became chair of

Viacom Canada Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

, and an on-air host of film-related programming for

Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

. She remained with Showcase until 1996, and with Viacom until 2000. In the 2000s, Stephenson and Kate Alexander Daniels launched the public relations firm Daniels Stephenson, which handled film publicity and produced the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards,"Cinema and TV academy names interim CEO". ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', May 27, 2011. and cofounded the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival with Brenda Dinnick.

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television

Stephenson was named interim CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television in 2011,"Helga's back as film Academy saviour". ''

'', August 17, 2011. and was confirmed in the position in 2012. In the position, she implemented changes to the Academy's board structure and media relations strategies in response to widespread dissatisfaction with the Academy among members, and spearheaded the merger of the

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scul ...

and the Gemini Awards into the contemporary

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

."Gemini, Genie Awards to be consolidated". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', May 2, 2012. She stepped down as CEO of the Academy in 2016, and was succeeded by Beth Janson."New head of Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television on her vision and rebranding"
680 News, November 14, 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Helga Chief executive officers of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television Canadian people of Icelandic descent Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian television hosts Living people McGill University alumni People from Montreal Canadian public relations people Members of the Order of Ontario Toronto International Film Festival people Film producers from Quebec Canadian women television personalities Canadian women film producers Officers of the Order of Canada Year of birth missing (living people)