TORONTO — The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) announced today Bela Bajaria (above, left), head of global TV for Netflix, and David Linde (right), CEO of Participant, will deliver keynotes at this year’s 43rd edition of the festival, being held in-person June 12-15 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta.
Bajaria and Linde will speak as part of BANFF’s Summit Series, which festival organizers describe as “a premium speaker lineup featuring the boldest voices and world’s most influential media leaders,” according to a press release.
“We are beyond excited about Bela and David joining us at BANFF this June,” said BANFF board chair and Lionsgate Television Group chair Kevin Beggs, in the press release. “The incredible lineup of speakers, award recipients, and talent reinforce what we have been saying for years now — The Banff World Media Festival is the ‘it’ gathering for global content creators.”
“Bela and David are two of the most accomplished and inspiring entertainment executives in the industry,” said Jenn Kuzmyk, executive director of Banff World Media Festival. “We’re looking forward to hosting them on the BANFF stage as they deliver what are sure to be thoughtful insights on the future of the industry, programming opportunities and their unique content strategies.”
Bajaria was named head of global TV for Netflix in 2020, overseeing all English language and local language scripted and unscripted series around the world.
“Bajaria leads the team for all of television, responsible for hit series including Bridgerton, MAID, Stranger Things, Lupin and Squid Game. Previously, she oversaw local language originals, managing the teams behind shows such as La Casa de Papel (Spain), The Witcher (Poland), Who Killed Sara? (Mexico) and Kingdom (Korea),” reads her bio in the press release.
Before joining Netflix in 2016, Bajaria was president of Universal Television, “where she made history as the first woman of color to oversee a studio,” the release says.
Prior to that, Bajaria was senior vice-president of cable programming for CBS TV Studios and senior vice-president of movies and miniseries for CBS Network.
“Bajaria was honored by the Asia Society in 2021 as one of their Entertainment Game Changers of the Year, and has also been honored by the ‘I Have a Dream’ Foundation of LA, The March of Dimes Foundation, and received the Industry Leadership Award from the LA Indian Film Festival,” the release says.
As CEO of Participant, the global media company founded by Jeff Skoll in 2004, Linde is responsible for “leading the company’s overall strategy, content creation, social impact, operations, strategic investments and acquisitions,” reads the release.
Some of the noteworthy films from Participant include: Oscar best picture winner Spotlight; Oscar winners for best documentary feature American Factory, CITIZENFOUR, The Cove and An Inconvenient Truth; and Oscar winners for best foreign language film Roma and A Fantastic Woman.
“Linde’s background spans production, global distribution and building multiple companies from the ground up. Linde has served as chairman of Universal Pictures, co-founder of acclaimed specialty film studio Focus Features and CEO and owner of Lava Bear Films,” the release says.
Currently, Linde serves on the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the board of trustees of the American Film Institute and the board of directors of Film Independent.
For more about the Banff World Media Festival, please click here.
Photos supplied by Banff World Media Festival.
