rob-davisRiverRun International Film Festival is pleased to announce that Rob Davis has been selected as the new Executive Director for RiverRun. Davis will relocate to Winston-Salem from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was Chief Development Officer for American Public Media’s Classical South Florida (CSF) network of public radio stations for the past five years.

Davis will take on his new role as RiverRun Executive Director effective August ­­­­­29, 2016. 

“The RiverRun International Film Festival has an outstanding reputation among the filmmaking community and as a significant cultural event in the South,” said Davis. “I look forward to joining the RiverRun team and working with staff, board members, volunteers, donors and the community to build upon the Festival’s exemplary successes and advance its mission.”

Davis served the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in various capacities for more than a decade, including associate programmer and a brief stint as Interim Executive Director. He also served as the Director of the DeSantis Center for Motion Picture Industry Studies at Florida Atlantic University, where he developed and taught motion picture industry studies at the graduate and undergraduate levels for over 10 years.

Additionally, Davis developed and taught an international film course in Spain. He has published many articles on film topics and several book chapters. Davis has been a panelist and speaker at film conferences in the U.S. and abroad including New York University’s Alfred Hitchcock Centennial Conference and the American Cinema and Everyday Life Conference hosted by the University of London.

Following a national executive search process guided by Arts Consulting Group, Davis was selected from a pool of 53 candidates.

“The search committee is very pleased with the outcome of our search. Rob Davis is an experienced leader who we believe will grow RiverRun into the Festival we all want it to be,” said RiverRun Board Chair, Barry Maine.

In addition to his valuable work experience, Davis earned an MBA from Vanderbilt University, where he focused his studies on marketing for non-profit organizations.

“I’m excited that Rob Davis will be leading RiverRun to its next level of success,” said Dale Pollock, Executive Consultant to RiverRun during its leadership transition and search committee member. “His invaluable experience in the film festival world and his expertise in arts fundraising will serve RiverRun well as it continues to benefit Winston-Salem and the State of North Carolina.”