Guillermo del Toro, Kris Bowers, and Fred Berger are among the newly elected governors to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, filling first-time seats across multiple branches as the board expands to 57 elected members.
Guillermo del Toro is stepping into a new role at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Academy announced Monday morning that del Toro, Kris Bowers, and Fred Berger are among the film professionals elected to its Board of Governors. For each of them, it’s the first time joining the board.
Del Toro will represent the Directors Branch, Bowers the Music Branch, and Berger the Producers Branch. The other first-time governors are Michael Goi for the Cinematographers Branch; Anne Goursaud for the Film Editors Branch; Patricia Dehaney for the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch; Vic Armstrong for the Production and Technology Branch; David Leitch for the Production and Technology Branch; and Kim Magnusson for the Short Films Branch.
Their elections come alongside another group of governors who will stay on the board after being re-elected. Lou Diamond Phillips will continue for the Actors Branch, while Jinko Gotoh remains in the Animation Branch. Daniel Orlandi returns for the Costume Designers Branch. Hannah Minghella for the Executives Branch. David Dinerstein for the Marketing and Public Relations Branch. Wendy Aylsworth for the Production and Technology Branch. Kalina Ivanov for Production Design. Mark P. Stoeckinger for Sound, and Dana Stevens for Writers.
Five more governors are also returning after a hiatus: Bonnie Arnold for the Animation Branch; Bernard Telsey for the Casting Directors Branch; Roger Ross Williams for the Documentary Branch; Bob Rogers for the Short Films Branch; and Paul Debevec for the Visual Effects Branch.
With these changes, the board size expands to 57 elected members—three from each branch—plus three at-large members appointed by the Academy president. The Academy also notes that previously, the Short Films, Animation, and Production and Technology branches had fewer members.
Not everyone is switching gears into a new election cycle. Governors returning to the board and not up for re-election include Pam Abdy, Haifaa al-Mansour, Lesley Barber, K.K. Barrett, Dion Beebe, Jason Blum, Brooke Breton, Effie T. Brown. Carter Burwell. Paul Cameron. Patricia Cardoso. Eduardo Castro. Annie Chang. Peter Devlin. Jennifer Fox. Chris Hegedus. Richard Hicks. Larry Karaszewski. Laura C. Kim. Christina Kounelias. Peter Kujawski. Marlee Matlin. Isis Mussenden. Andy Nelson. Missy Parker. Gerald Quist. Jason Reitman. Nancy Richardson. Andrew Roberts. Howard A. Rodman, Terilyn T. Shropshire, Chris Tashima, Kim Taylor-Coleman, Jean Tsien, Marlon West, Gigi Williams, and Rita Wilson.
Board members serve three-year terms. They’re allowed to serve two consecutive terms before taking a two-year hiatus. After that break, they can serve two additional terms, with a lifetime maximum of 12 years on the board.
For the 2026-2027 board, the Academy says the group will include 28 women and 32 men—moving from last year’s ratio of 30 women and 25 men.
Guillermo del Toro Kris Bowers Fred Berger Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors Directors Branch Music Branch Producers Branch election film professionals