Bob Daly to Step Down as AFI Board Chair After 17 Years

Bob Daly will step down as chair of the American Film Institute's Board of Directors on 21 October after 17 years in the role.

The change will be made formal at the organisation's trustee meeting, according to Variety. It ends a long run at the top of the American nonprofit behind film preservation, awards and training.

Daly joined the AFI Board in April 1981. He was named chair on 8 October 2009, succeeding co-chairs Jon Avnet and John Cooke. Avnet and Cooke had led the board together for eight years and then stayed on as directors, according to Screen Daily.

His screen career began far from the boardroom. Daly started at US broadcaster CBS as a gofer in 1955, meaning an entry-level runner who fetches whatever a set needs. He stayed at CBS for 25 years. He rose to president overseeing all television operations.

In 1980 he moved to Warner Bros. as chairman and co-chief executive. He spent 19 years at the studio. He ran it alongside co-chief executive Terry Semel.

The pair were credited with 16 consecutive years of record earnings. Their slate included 13 films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, the top prize at the Oscars. Three of them won: Chariots of Fire, Driving Miss Daisy and Unforgiven.

After Warner Bros., Daly spent four years as chair and chief executive of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. He sold the team in 2004. He also served as chair of the charity Save the Children.

The American Film Institute was founded in 1967. It is a nonprofit that preserves motion picture heritage, honours artists and educates storytellers. Its work includes the AFI Conservatory film school, the AFI Life Achievement Award and its annual lists of the year's best films and television programmes.

Inside AFI, power is split. The Board of Directors is a 17-member group that acts as its executive committee, handling governance between full meetings. The larger Board of Trustees provides oversight. Producer Kathleen Kennedy chairs the Board of Trustees, while Bob Gazzale serves as AFI's president and chief executive.

What makes this stand out is continuity. Daly has been connected to AFI's board since 1981. That is more than four decades. His departure closes a direct link to both old Hollywood and the modern studio era.