OTTAWA – The Canada Media Fund announced Wednesday the appointment of two new directors and the expansion of its growth and inclusion team.
The fund that supports the production of Canadian content said Karen Tohana will oversee English content and Emmanuelle Petrakis will lead strategic partnerships. French market liaison Gaelle Essoo and coordinator Philippe Sabourin will be coordinator in the growth and inclusion team.
Tohana, who will be based in Toronto, brings public and private broadcasting, production, distribution, and financing experience to the role. She was most recently with the CBC as business and rights manager of unscripted programming.
“Reporting to Rod Butler, vice president of content and regulatory, Karen will be instrumental in delivering on our engagement to Canadian creators from coast to coast to coast,” the press release said.
Petrakis, based in Toronto, has been with the CMF since 2014 and has played a key role in growing the fund’s portfolio of partnerships. With over 20 years of experience in the Canadian media and screen industries, she will continue to “foster strong relationships with our partners and stakeholders.”
Essoo, based in Montreal, is the lead editor of Now and Next, the CMF’s digital magazine. She will now split her time between editorial work and her French market liaison role with the growth and inclusion team, the fund said.
“As part of her ongoing advocacy for racialized creators in Canada, her new duties will include liaising with CMF clients and stakeholders in domestic French markets and representing the CMF at key events and speaking opportunities,” the release said.
Sabourin, based in Montreal, was most recently a coordinator for the Short-Term Compensation Fund team at Telefilm and has experience working on in-house productions at the SRC. He will be tasked with helping deliver the fund’s equity and inclusion strategy.
“These changes reflect the CMF’s commitment to supporting Canadian content creators across all platforms and regions, as well as advancing our equity, diversity, and inclusion strategy and objectives,” the fund said in the release.
Earlier this year, the fund appointed two new executives Marcia Douglas, vice president of growth and inclusion, and Janine Steele, director of interactive digital media.
From left, via CMF: Gaëlle Essoo, Karen Tohana, Philippe Sabourin, Emmanuelle Petrakis
