Television Academy chair Cris Abrego has appointed five new members of the org’s executive committee. New to the group are three-time Emmy winner Uzo Aduba, Apple TV’s Matt Cherniss, Netflix’s Jinny Howe, Disney/ABC’s Debra OConnell and Fox Entertainment’s Rob Wade. Per the TV Academy, the executive committee is charged with advising Abrego and TV Academy Board of Governors “on some of the most important issues and initiatives facing the television industry while helping to shape the organization’s direction.”
Said Abrego in a statement: “The next two years will be a pivotal period for both the Academy and our industry. Bringing together this extraordinary group of leaders ensures we have the experience and insight needed to guide the Academy through this moment of transformation and strengthen its role as a vital, relevant and unifying force for the creative community and the future of television.”
The new appointees join a group of peer group governors, elected by the Academy’s Board of Governors, to serve on the executive committee for the 2026 term including: Phil Gurin (producers), David Hartle (production executives), Christina E. Lee (public relations), Sabrina Wind (producers) and foundation chair Tina Perry.
On the executive committee, they join chair Cris Abrego, vice chair Jacob Fenton (professional representatives), 2nd vice chair Jo DiSante (television executives), secretary Megan Chao (documentary programming) and treasurer Tony Carey (producers).
The TV Academy also held a special election to fill seats left vacant by current executive committee members. Added to the board of governors: Craig Wagner has been elected as a governor of the professional representatives peer group, while Dave Harding was elected as a governor of the documentary programming peer group.
As for Abrego’s new executive committee appointees, Aduba was most recently on Netflix’s “The Residence,” which earned her a comedy lead actress Emmy nom. She previously won two Emmys for “Orange Is the New Black.” Cherniss has been head of programming at Apple TV since joining in 2017, having previously worked at WGN America and FX. His recent hits include “Pluribus” and Emmy winners “The Studio” and “Severance.”
Howe was recently promoted to head of scripted series for U.S. and Canada at Netflix; she first joined the streamer in 2018. Her hits include “Bridgerton,” “Maid,” “Inventing Anna,” “The Night Agent” and more. OConnell is president of ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks at the Walt Disney Co., overseeing ABC News and the ABC-owned television stations. She also oversees linear networks including ABC, Disney Channels, FX Networks, Freeform and Nat Geo channels.
Wade was named CEO of Fox Entertainment in 2022, restructuring the company into three arms: Fox Television Network, Fox Entertainment Studios and Fox Entertainment Global. Fox has launched recent hits including “Doc,” “Best Medicine,” “Fear Factor: House of Fear” and “Memory of a Killer.”
