Bill Kramer, who has served as the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since June 2022, and whose contract was not up for renewal until 2025, has reached an agreement with the Academy to remain its chief through July 2028, the organization announced on Monday.
The deal, which the Academy says “was approved one year early due to his exceptional leadership and significant contributions,” guarantees that Kramer will be at the organization’s through the 100th Oscars ceremony in the spring of 2028 and the duration of its current Oscars broadcasting deal with ABC, which is set to expire after that ceremony.
“Bill is a dynamic and transformational leader, and the Board of Governors agrees he is the ideal person to continue to broaden the Academy’s reach and impact on our international film community and successfully guide the organization into our next 100 years,” Academy president Janet Yang said in a statement.
Kramer, a veteran fundraiser, has been associated with the Academy since 2012, when he signed on as managing director of development and external relations for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. After helping to raise $250 million to get the project off the ground, he hoped for a more siginificant role in the museum’s oversight, but when it was not forthcoming he left the organization. However, things did not work out with the initial museum director, Kerry Brougher, and Kramer was hired in 2019 to replace Brougher in 2020.
Since Kramer was elevated to the overall Academy’s top posiition in 2022, ratings for the Oscars telecast have improved; the Academy Museum has grown (while also facing criticism); the Academy sci-tech and theaters staff has been streamlined (resulting in some layoffs); and the Academy100 campaign has been launched.
For their part, Academy members recently indicated overwhelming approval of the direction of the organization.
