Bob Daly is leaving his post as chair of the American Film Institute’s board of directors after 17 years, the organization announced Wednesday. Daly’s departure takes effect Oct. 21. He joined the board in 1981 and became chair in 2009. The announcement did not name a replacement.
Daly framed the role as a high point of a career that took him through CBS, Warner Bros. and the Los Angeles Dodgers, calling the post “one of the greatest honors of my life.” He praised the board for uniting film and television figures around a shared love of the art form, and closed with “Long live the AFI!”
AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale credited Daly with shaping the institute’s preservation, celebration and education work more than any other individual over four decades. He called Daly a master of leadership and pledged to keep making him proud.
Daly’s résumé spans much of modern Hollywood. He spent 25 years at CBS, where he lifted the network to the top of the ratings as president. He then served nearly 20 years as chairman and co-CEO of Warner Bros. alongside Terry Semel. The pair were credited with 16 straight years of record earnings, and the studio released 13 Best Picture nominees, including winners “Chariots of Fire,” “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Unforgiven.” After Warner, he ran the Dodgers for four years and sold the team with his partners in 2004. The Television Academy inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2022.
His AFI role carried real weight. The directors board, a 21-member executive committee, sets the institute’s priorities and oversees its programs. Kathleen Kennedy, elected chair of the separate Board of Trustees in 2019, leads a panel that sets national education priorities. Kennedy is the former Lucasfilm president. The trustee ranks include Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Ava DuVernay and Ted Sarandos.
President Lyndon B. Johnson founded AFI in 1967 to preserve motion picture heritage, honor artists and train the next generation of storytellers. Daly’s exit comes as the institute prepares its annual festival. “Wildwood” will open AFI Fest in Los Angeles this year.
Who steps into the chair, and when, remains unanswered. The board’s choice will signal how AFI intends to carry Daly’s long tenure into its next chapter.
