A new chairman of the board of directors of the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has been appointed and two new directors have joined the board.  

Phil Hardman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of BBC Studios Asia, has been appointed as the new chairman following Clément Schwebig stepping down. Schwebig was previously President and Managing Director of Warner Bros. Discovery for India, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea, before moving on to be President, Western Europe & Africa.

Also joining the AVIA board this year are Emily Yri, Vice President, International Marketing, PubMatic, and Shonali Bedi, Head of Strategy, Partnerships & Insights, APAC, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Louis Boswell, CEO of AVIA, commented, “The board of AVIA and I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Clément Schwebig who chaired the Board for the last three years, taking over in the middle of a pandemic and helping steer the association to safety through those difficult times.  He was a strong and vocal advocate for the industry. The board and I are now looking forward to working with new Chairman – Phil Hardman, to help guide AVIA through what are clearly challenging times. Phil also has an energy and passion for the industry, and I am sure will make a significant contribution to developing the next chapter in the AVIA story.”

Phil Hardman added, “AVIA stands at the intersection of the diverse challenges and opportunities in the media industry across Asia bringing much needed insight, thought leadership and regulatory & anti-piracy initiatives that benefit its members. BBC Studios has been a long-term Patron Member of the association, and I am honoured to become chairman of AVIA at such an exciting and innovative time. I look forward to working closely with our board members and the AVIA leadership to help AVIA guide the industry through a time of such transformational change.”

With the two new additions to the board, AVIA now has four female board directors, or one third of the board.