May 16, 2016 – Vancouver – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Claude Joli-Coeur, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada, has appointed Loc Dao as Chief Digital Officer (CDO) & Executive Director, Programming and Production, NFB Interactive Studios.

After five years at the helm of the National Film Board of Canada’s award-winning Digital Studio in Vancouver, Loc Dao has been named CDO to lead the organization’s digital transformation. Loc heads up a new hybrid team that aims to innovate and raise the bar in digital storytelling, bring the NFB’s works to new audiences, foster and incubate new creators, and ensure the integration and harmonization of the NFB’s digital platforms.

Loc will be responsible for digital strategy, content, platforms, and applications, reporting to NFB chair Claude Joli-Coeur. Loc’s appointment represents a new approach for the NFB, whose previous structure meant that digital talent was spread across various divisions.

Loc, who was named as NFB CDO on March 22, added to the management structure of his team last week, naming Rob McLaughlin as the Executive Producer of the Digital Studio in Vancouver. Rob is joined by Hugues Sweeney, Executive Producer of the French-language Interactive Studio in Montreal.

The Vancouver and Montreal studios will continue to be responsible for producing innovative interactive and virtual reality works, exploring new forms of storytelling and acting as an incubator for projects that can serve all NFB creation.

As Executive Director, Programming and Production, Interactive Studios, Loc will hold editorial responsibility for the two studios and fulfill his responsibilities in close collaboration with the Executive Directors of English Program and French Program, Michelle van Beusekom and Michèle Belanger, respectively, as well as with the new Director General of Creation and Innovation, to be named later this year.

Quotes

“Seven years into the NFB’s digital transformation, our productions and platforms have garnered millions of views and many of the interactive world’s highest honours, including 17 Webby Awards to date. Loc’s appointment, and the vision he brings, is the next step forward for the NFB, as we rethink our structure in order to work smarter and better, more effectively, and expand Canada’s presence in the digital sphere. I thank Loc for his great leadership with the Vancouver studio and look forward to working with him in his new role.”

–       Claude Joli-Coeur,
Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the NFB

“The NFB has a unique opportunity to define what it is to be a digital-first public media organization. Our new generation of creators and audiences are digital natives who grew up with social media and user-generated content. We must embrace this generation in public producing and explore the possibilities of digital creation, interaction and immersion.”

–       Loc Dao,
Chief Digital Officer & Executive Director, Programming and Production,
NFB Interactive Studios

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