Keri Putnam (born 1965) is an American film, media and arts executive and producer and current Chief Executive officer at

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers fr ...

. She is a former Executive Vice President at

HBO Films HBO Films (formerly called HBO Premiere Films and HBO Pictures) is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. The division produces fiction and non- ...

, and former President of the Production at

Miramax films Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a lead ...

Background

Education and early career

Putnam graduated from Princeton Day School in 1983. She graduated ''summa cum laude'' from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and holds a bachelor's degree in both theatre history and literature, class of 1987''.'' She began her career working in the literary office of regional theaters, including Williamstown Theater Festival,

McCarter Theatre McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The institution is currently led by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg. ...

, Arena Stage and the ART.

HBO

In 1987, Putnam joined HBO as an assistant in original programming and served as HBO New York City Productions Vice President from 1996 to 1999 and as the Executive Vice President from 2002 to 2006. During her tenure at HBO, she oversaw 48 award-winning films and mini-series including ''

If These Walls Could Talk ''If These Walls Could Talk'' is a 1996 American television film, broadcast on HBO. It follows the plights of three different women and their experiences with abortion. Each of the three stories takes place in the same house, 22 years apart: 195 ...

'', ''Mi Vida Loca,'' '' Empire Falls'', '' Lackawanna Blues'' and ''

Normal Normal(s) or The Normal(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Normal'' (2003 film), starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson * ''Normal'' (2007 film), starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Zegers, Callum Keith Rennie, and Andrew Airlie * ''Norma ...

''. The projects she supervised collectively received 50 Emmy awards and nominations, as well as numerous other honors such as Peabody and

Golden Globes Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

. In 2005, she was the senior HBO production executive involved in the formation of Picturehouse, a joint venture between

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

subsidiaries,

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

and

to acquire and distribute films such as ''Elephant'', a Gus van Sant film that received the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the 56th Cannes Film Festival.

Miramax Films

In 2006, Putnam joined Miramax, then a division of Walt Disney Pictures after the departure of the Weinstein brothers from the company, as President of Production. She oversaw the production and acquisition of 20 films including ''No Country for Old Men'', ''There Will be Blood'', ''

Gone Baby Gone ''Gone Baby Gone'' is a 2007 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a ...

'', ''The Queen'', ''Adventureland'' and ''Diving Bell and the Butterfly''. She left the company when it was shut down before being sold by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Sundance

In February 2010, she was appointed as Executive Director of

's, the nonprofit arts organization founded by Robert Redford. In this role, she oversees the Sundance Film Festival as well as the Institute's many year-round programs to support independent storytelling artists around the world through labs, workshops, and educational resources. Putnam and

Cathy Schulman Cathy Schulman (born 1965) is an American film producer. A graduate of Yale University, Schulman's screen credits include ''Isn't She Great'', ''Sidewalks of New York (2001 film), Sidewalks of New York'', ''Employee of the Month (2004 film), Em ...

co-founded

ReFrame ReFrame (also known as ReFrame Project; formerly known as the Systemic Change Project) is a US non-profit organization founded by Women in Film LA and the Sundance Institute together with over 50 leaders and influencers in Hollywood, with the go ...

in 2017, a non-profit organization aimed to support women in the media industry. Keri Putnam was appointed an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University from 2018 to 2024.

References

External links

Cornell University bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Keri 1965 births Living people American media executives Harvard University alumni Princeton Day School alumni Miramax people Cornell University faculty