Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The Television Academy revealed Thursday that it had elected Hayma Washington as its first black CEO. Washington, who goes by the nickname “Screech,” will start in the role next January.
Washington will take over for Bruce Rosenblum, who served for the past five years.
“Emmy Award winner Washington, the Academy’s first African-American chairman and CEO, is a seasoned television executive who currently produces and directs under his own production company banner, Screechers Pix,” the Academy wrote in an official press release yesterday. “Washington previously served as executive producer of The Amazing Race, for which he earned seven Emmy Awards and a Producers Guild Award.”
Washington, a former Disney exec, previously produced the growing ESPY Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards.
“This is a time of considerable change for our industry and I am deeply committed to ensuring that the Academy is at the forefront as we move towards a more inclusive future,” Washington said in the release.
After the announcement, fans and critics alike lauded the move.
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