Tom McDonald, executive VP of content at National Geographic, has been named the new chair for The Grierson Trust, taking over in November when Lorraine Heggessey steps down after 11 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a huge honor to be named chair of The Grierson Trust,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cAt a time of enormous disruption and uncertainty in the world of documentary, The Trust\u2019s mission is more important than ever. I\u2019ve long admired The Trust\u2019s high-impact work to nurture new voices in documentary filmmaking and to amplify the very best of global documentary filmmaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cI can\u2019t wait to work with Sylvia [Bednarz] and the board to build on The Trust\u2019s incredible work during Lorraine\u2019s tenure.\u201d<\/p>\n
As chair of the board of trustees, McDonald will work closely with the board and Bednarz, managing director, to guide The Trust\u2019s strategic direction, champion fundraising efforts and strengthen industry engagement, acting as an ambassador for the organization and helping sustain its place as a cornerstone of the U.K.\u2019s documentary filmmaking community.<\/p>\n
Alongside steering the British Documentary Awards, also known as the Griersons, McDonald will work with Bednarz to oversee the suite of industry-led Grierson DocLab training programs run in partnership and collaboration with broadcasters, streamers and more than 20 independent television production companies, helping to sustain and diversify the documentary workforce in the U.K.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are absolutely thrilled to welcome Tom McDonald as the new chair of The Grierson Trust,\u201d Bednarz said. \u201cTom has always been a fierce advocate for documentaries and a passionate supporter of [the] global filmmaking community. As a former Grierson Trustee and a longstanding champion of our mission, he understands the heart of what we do. The board and team alike feel Tom is perfectly placed to lead us into an exciting new chapter for The Grierson Trust. We would also like to thank Lorraine for her exceptional leadership over the last 11 years, culminating at this year\u2019s Grierson Awards ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n
At National Geographic, McDonald oversees television, streaming, editorial, digital and social across all platforms, including Disney+ and Hulu. He leads global content teams in New York, Los Angeles, London and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tom McDonald, executive VP of content at National Geographic, has been named the new chair for The Grierson Trust, taking over in November when Lorraine Heggessey steps down after 11 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":23628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[6514,1009,6350,1673,4203],"class_list":["post-23627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-lorraine-heggessey","tag-national-geographic","tag-sylvia-bednarz","tag-the-grierson-trust","tag-tom-mcdonald","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n