CMF welcomes new Chief Strategy Officer to its Executive Team
Toronto, August 7, 2019 – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) today announced it is welcoming Kelly Wilhelm to its executive team. Wilhelm will take on the newly created role of Chief Strategy Officer. Reporting directly and acting in an advisory capacity to Valerie Creighton, CMF’s President and CEO, Wilhelm is tasked with contributing to setting the future trajectory of the CMF, with a specific focus on innovation through the lens of industry-wide disruption and opportunities for growth.
“I couldn’t be happier to welcome Kelly to the team,” said Valerie Creighton. “I had the pleasure of working closely with her during her time as Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. As we continue our work of bringing Canadians together through our common stories, Kelly’s passion and dedication to Canadian culture, coupled with her experience and deep knowledge of the media landscape will be an asset to the CMF and the industry we serve.”
Kelly Wilhelm is a bilingual strategist with more than 20 years’ experience leading innovation and change in Canada’s creative industries, arts and culture. She has a proven track record of leading major strategy and policy initiatives to respond to disruption, capitalize on opportunities for growth, and secure new investment. She brings to the role extensive experience in stakeholder and government relations at the most senior levels.
For the past year, Wilhelm has been working as a sought-after independent strategist advising executive teams at organizations such as Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the National Arts Centre, City of Toronto Economic Development and Culture, and the National Gallery of Canada. Between 2016 and 2018, Wilhelm was Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Canadian Heritage on complex files in television, digital media, broadcasting, film and news media. She was previously Director of Policy, Planning and Strategic Foresight at the Canada Council for the Arts, where she spent ten years, and where her accomplishments included leading the strategy work to secure the doubling of the Council’s funding in 2016 and the development of its last two strategic plans.
Wilhelm’s work across Canada, much of it in executive roles in the federal government, has given her a deep understanding of the importance of Canada’s two official languages and their distinct markets. She is an advocate for equity, and works to be a good ally in the path towards truth and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
She has a BA in Literature and Art History from Queen’s University and a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from the University of Toronto.
Kelly Wilhelm will sit on the CMF’s Executive Committee alongside Valerie Creighton; Sandra Collins, Chief Operating Officer; Nathalie Clermont, Vice-president, Programs and Business Development; and Mathieu Chantelois, Vice-president Communications and Promotions. Wilhelm’s appointment comes after a nation-wide search conducted by Bedford Consulting Group.
About the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances and promotes the production of Canadian content and applications for all audiovisual media platforms. The CMF guides Canadian content towards a competitive global environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voice and promoting access to content through public and private sector partnerships. The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors. Please visit cmf-fmc.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
André Ferreira
Communications Manager
[email protected]
416.214.4402
