TORONTO – The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) today announced Brenda Gilbert (above), president and co-founder of BRON Media Corp has been appointed as vice chair of the festival’s board of directors and Justin Stockman, vice-president of content development and programming at Bell Media has joined as a member of the board.
“We’re delighted to welcome BRON’s Brenda Gilbert as Vice Chair of the Board and Bell Media’s Justin Stockman to our BANFF family,” said recently appointed BANFF board chair and Lionsgate Television Group chair, Kevin Beggs, in a press release.
“Brenda leads one of today’s premier production companies and shares our passion for impactful storytelling. Her business expertise and creative vision make her the perfect addition to the Board, and Justin’s strong programming background and relationships will contribute greatly in continuing to make BANFF an amazing event.”
Gilbert and her husband Aaron L. Gilbert co-founded BRON Media Corp, which is based in Vancouver and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, London and Toronto.
It is the parent company of BRON Studios, BRON Releasing, BRON Digital, and BRON Ventures.
“The BRON group of companies are industry leaders in production, finance and the sales and marketing of film, series television and animation,” the press release says.
“Brenda has a special focus on BRON’s non-scripted arm BRON Life, and is currently an Executive Producer on several projects, including the Untitled Nicki Minaj series with HBO Max. Over her 20+ years in the media space, Brenda has produced, or executive produced more than two-dozen projects, including the recent animated film The Willoughbys, which premiered on Netflix in 2020.”
Gilbert also sits on the board of Film Independent and has been the track chair for mentoring initiatives with Woman in Animation. She is also an advisor to the Vancouver Film School and La Salle College and has volunteered with Vancouver Community College.
“BANFF continually raises the bar in fostering creativity and business development throughout the industry,” said Gilbert. “I am incredibly honored to have been appointed Vice Chair of the Board and look forward to working with Kevin and the team to further enrich and diversify the global marketplace.”
Stockman (right) has held numerous roles at Bell Media including as vice-president of brand partnerships and client strategy on the company’s sales team, vice-president of premium SVOD and OTT and vice-president of specialty channels.
In his current role at Bell Media he “is responsible for English TV programming including CTV, Crave, and Bell Media’s English-language specialty channels Discovery, MTV, E!, Much, CTV Drama, CTV Life, CTV Comedy, CTV Sci-Fi with a focus on developing groundbreaking new content,” the press release says.
Stockman’s position involves “the ongoing negotiation and development of Bell Media’s Original Production programming content for all platforms with local producers and international studios,” the release says. He is also a member of Bell Media’s Diversity Leadership Council and works with external partners such as HireBIPOC on diversity and inclusion initiatives.
“It is my distinct honour to join the esteemed Banff World Media Festival Board of Directors,” said Stockman.
“I look forward to collaborating with Kevin, and my fellow board members as we expand the conversation around content creation and diversification and look toward to shaping the future of our industry in Canada and around the world.”
BANFF also announced John Brunton, chairman and CEO, executive producer at Insight Productions Ltd; Ira Levy, executive producer at Breakthrough Entertainment; and Blair Miller managing partner of the Telus Pollinator Fund for Good are stepping down as members of the board.
Photos provided by BANFF.
