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Facebook Marketing Exec Kamala Avila-Salmon Joins Lionsgate As Studio’s First Head Of Inclusive Content

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group has named Kamala Avila-Salmon as their first Head of Inclusive Content, a new position aimed at developing and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and strategies which will then be reflected in the studio’s theatrical slate and home entertainment.

Avila-Salmon arrives at Lionsgate from Facebook, where she launched the Marketing Inclusion discipline within the social media website’s Consumer Marketing team. Avila-Salmon will report to Lionsgate Motion Picture Group COO Jen Hollingsworth.

Avila-Salmon will have a voice in all Motion Picture Group creatives processes including greenlight, content development, production, casting, marketing and international sales and liaise with the studio’s Chief Diversity Officer, Jamila Daniel to support internal D&I processes and initiatives.

At Facebook, Avila-Salmon’s team was responsible for inspiring the marketers across the social media site’s family of apps to ship more diverse and inclusive marketing campaigns that led the industry and represented the portal’s global user base. Prior to that, she served as the senior content marketer at Facebook Watch, focusing on original series like Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith and Stephen Vs The Game with Stephen Curry. She also led the brand’s efforts to drive greater diversity and inclusion across their marketing work. Her work at Facebook earned her recognition as one of AdWeek’s 2019 Young Influentials, an honor given to stars who are “changing the way we think about branding.”

“Lionsgate is committed to making films and telling stories that reflect the broader world around us. As a senior leader in the Motion Picture Group, Kamala will have the authority and support to help us better serve our audiences. Her expertise and leadership will be vital, but the work toward progress does not rest on her shoulders alone – it will require everyone at this studio to be dedicated in joining in her mandate, and we renew that dedication today,” said Hollingsworth.

“Storytelling is the lifeblood of our society and the stories we see on the big screen shape how we see ourselves and others. Inclusive stories have the power to change our world and I am honored and humbled to partner with the amazing team at Lionsgate in the mission to get more of these stories into the world,” said Avila-Salmon.

Avila-Salmon began her career at RCA Records in marketing. She then joined Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records as a marketing executive, where she envisioned and executed multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns for such artists such as Janelle Monáe. She continued on to the selective Leadership Program at Universal Pictures before transitioning to the TV side with NBC Entertainment as a marketing strategy executive overseeing the market positioning and key promotional messages for top network shows such as The Voice and Law & Order: SVU. In 2015, Avila-Salmon joined Google Play as an executive responsible for consumer-facing marketing campaigns promoting Google Play Music and Google Play Movies, then segued to the launch team for YouTube TV, Google’s entry into live TV streaming, as their first Partner & Content Marketing Lead.

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