BAFTA has announced the appointment of Lisa Campbell as its new executive director of programmes, who will join the organisation’s senior leadership team in spring 2026 and report to BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip.
Campbell will lead the BAFTA Programmes team on all talent programmes, ranging from Young BAFTA’s school outreach and career starter programmes, such as BAFTA’s Bursary Programme, through to in-career talent acceleration programmes, such as BAFTA Elevate and BAFTA Breakthrough.
She will also lead BAFTA’s programme of editorial activities for the screen industry, “driving conversation, debate and thought leadership across film, games and TV”.
Both the talent and editorial programmes have a focus on equity, diversity and inclusion – and on driving positive social and cultural practices across the industry and to the public.
BAFTA said: “Lisa is a highly respected strategic media leader whose career spans journalism, major industry events and high-level communications roles.
“She joins BAFTA from ITN, where she is currently director of corporate communications and member of the senior leadership team, leading the organisation’s profile-building, industry influence and internal engagement across strategy, brand, culture and policy.
“During her tenure, Lisa has overseen ITN’s first major rebrand in over a decade, managed a raft of events and campaigns across news, TV production and digital and been a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion.”
Millichip added: “Lisa is an incredibly accomplished media executive with a wealth of experience and expertise in debating the issues that matter, engaging the industry, seeking solutions, and promoting a rich and diverse talent pipeline.
“I’m absolutely delighted she is joining BAFTA at a key time, as we scale up our work in thought leadership and our talent development work, from schools and career starters through to all-career development.”
Last year, Campbell was seconded to lead the Creative Cities Convention in Bradford, setting the editorial vision for the event as part of the UK City of Culture programme.
Previously, she served as CEO and festival director of the Edinburgh International Television Festival and The TV Foundation, where she led the UK’s biggest media festival and a year‑round programme of industry engagement, shaping the festival’s editorial agenda, strengthening commercial performance and relaunching its talent programme.
Before that, she spent more than a decade at Broadcast, including as editor, driving agenda‑setting journalism and leading initiatives such as the high‑profile Expert Women campaign.
Campbell said: “I’m excited to join BAFTA at such a pivotal moment for the screen industries, stepping into an organisation whose global reputation for championing creative excellence is unmatched.
“As the sector evolves at speed, BAFTA’s ability to nurture talent, set the agenda and bring the industry together matters more than ever.
“I’m looking forward to working with the team, members and partners to expand the impact of this work and help shape a more ambitious, inclusive and future-focused screen‑arts landscape.”
