Meet the Governors: Chris Thomes

Name: Chris Thomes

Peer Group:  Interactive Media primary and hyphenate in Producers

New or Returning Governor? New

Describe your day job: I am head of strategic markteing for ABC Studios.  We drive brand creative & strategy & optimize content across our distribution value chain. We focus on developing audiences beyond first window distribution, creating a monetizable connection with fans that drives audiences into other products or IP.  

We are also charged with the caretaking of our brands and ensuring our producers and creators are supported thorughout their productions.

Credits of which you're most proud: Oscars All Access live backstage experience for which the team won two Emmys. I am also incredibly proud of the web series we produced, The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora and the five interactive entertainment patents I was a part of developing.

But at the end of the day, I am most proud of my wife & children because they inspire me and are my heart.

Why did you want to be a Television Academy governor?  I believe in service and being a part of something bigger than oneself. I am lucky to have a successful career in this industry and it is important for me to give back.

What do you hope to accomplish as a governor? I am energized by the opportunity to turn industry disruption into opportunity. Our Academy is a tremendous platform from where we can illuminate transformative new thinking, embrace it, and honor it.

I am inspired to work with Academy leadership and my fellow governors to make the TV Academy the center of conversation around television and its potential for the future.

Why is the Academy important to the industry? We need a place to focus industry points-of-view and discussions about Television. By getting behind our new Chairman, Frank Scherma's, vision of making the Academy the center of that conversation, we can tackle subjects from diversity and legacy to disruption and opportunity.

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