List of presidents of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
Updated: August 2025
List of history of presidents of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the organization’s CEOs. The first CEO was hired in 2011. The timeline is sourced from the Internet Movie Database. That timeline, as of June 2025, has not been updated for at least five years. Biographical links are provided for each president. Leadership terms, according to Academy press releases, currently begin on Aug. 1, so the tenure of a single one-year term occurs in two calendar years. The organization’s fiscal year appears to end on June 30.
According to AMPAS, “Officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive years in any one office.” Also, “Academy board members may serve up to two three-year terms (consecutive or non-consecutive), followed by a two-year hiatus, after which eligibility renews for up to two additional three-year terms for a lifetime maximum of 12 years.”
1. Douglas Fairbanks — 1927–29
2. William C. de Mille — 1929–31
3. M. C. Levee — 1931–32
4. Conrad Nagel — 1932–33
5. J. Theodore Reed — 1933–34
6. Frank Lloyd — 1934–35
7. Frank Capra — 1935–39
8. Walter Wanger — 1939–41
9. Bette Davis — 1941 (announced November 1941; resignation announced late December 1941)
10. Walter Wanger — 1941–45
11. Jean Hersholt — 1945–49
12. Charles Brackett — 1949–55
13. George Seaton — 1955–58
14. George Stevens — 1958–59
15. B.B. Kahane — 1959–60 (died)
16. Valentine Davies — 1960–61 (died)
17. Wendell Corey — 1961–63
18. Arthur Freed — 1963–67
19. Gregory Peck — 1967–70
20. Daniel Taradash — 1970–73
21. Walter Mirisch — 1973–77
22. Howard W. Koch — 1977–79
23. Fay Kanin — 1979–83
24. Gene Allen — 1983–85
25. Robert Wise — 1985–88
26. Richard Kahn — 1988–89
27. Karl Malden — 1989–92
28. Robert Rehme — 1992–93
29. Arthur Hiller — 1993–97
30. Robert Rehme — 1997–01
31. Frank Pierson — 2001–05
32. Sid Ganis — 2005–09
33. Tom Sherak — 2009–12
34. Hawk Koch — 2012–13
35. Cheryl Boone Isaacs — 2013–17
36. John Bailey — 2017–19
37. David Rubin — 2019–22
38. Janet Yang — 2022–2025
39. Lynette Howell Taylor — 2025–present
CEOs of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
1. Dawn Hudson — 2011-22 (announced in 2021 that term would end before contract expired in 2023)
2. Bill Kramer — July 18, 2022-present