Academy Museum Adds LAIKA President and CEO Travis Knight to Board of Trustees
Travis Knight, president and CEO of animation studio LAIKA, has been appointed to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Board of Trustees. Additionally, the museum announced the appointment of motion picture producer and former chair of the Academy Museum Inclusion Advisory Committee, Effie T. Brown, as an honorary trustee (a lifetime position), effective July 1, 2023.
According to an official statement from the museum: “As the governing body of the Academy Museum, the Board leads the museum toward a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, in addition to securing adequate resources to advance the museum’s mission. Knight and Brown will help continue the success of the museum and its social impact for audiences worldwide.”
Additionally, the Academy Museum’s Board of Trustees has also re-elected Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Arnaud Boetsch, Olivier de Givenchy, Ray Halbritter, Ryan Murphy, Regina Scully, whose current terms end June 30, 2023, for another three-year term.
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Ted Sarandos, Board Chair and Co-CEO of Netflix, said in the official statement: “We are thrilled to welcome Travis Knight to the Board of Trustees. He is an extraordinary leader who has already made such an impact on the industry at large through his groundbreaking advancements in the art of stop-motion animation and live-action moviemaking.” He continues, “We are also proud to recognize Effie T. Brown, a talented producer who has been a crucial voice for diversity and inclusion at the museum, with this lifetime honorary position.”
Knight joins current and re-elected Board members Ted Sarandos, Chair; Miky Lee (Mie Kyung Lee), Vice-Chair; Kimberly Steward, Secretary; Jim Gianopulos, Treasurer; Patricia Bellinger Balzer; Jason Blum; Arnaud Boetsch; Olivier de Givenchy; David Dolby; Sidonie Seydoux Dumas; Eric Esrailian; Julia S. Gouw; Ray Halbritter; Tom Hanks; Bill Kramer; David Linde; Eva Longoria; Ryan Murphy; Isis Mussenden; Dominic Ng; Katherine L. Oliver; Alejandro Ramírez Magaña; Shira Ruderman; Regina K. Scully; Jacqueline Stewart; Emma Thomas; Janet Yang; and Kevin Yeaman. Brown joins Honorary Trustee Sid Ganis.
Knight, a former rapper and the son of Nike co-founder Phil Knight (the guy Ben Affleck played in “Air”), gained an interest in animation. He became a shareholder in Will Vinton Studios and convinced the company to hire him as an intern; he eventually became a controlling shareholder and rebranded the studio LAIKA. (Vinton was a pioneering “Claymation” animator and created the California Raisins and Domino’s “Avoid the Noid” ad campaigns and contributed to “Return to Oz,” “Captain EO” and “The Adventures of Mark Twain.”) LAIKA has since produced “Coraline,” “ParaNorman” and “Missing Link.” And Knight has directed live-action “Transformers” movie “Bumblebee.”
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