Sid Ganis was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Aug. 23, 2005, by the organization's board of governors. He succeeds Frank Pierson, who had served the maximum four consecutive one-year terms in the office.
Ganis, beginning his 19th year as a governor representing the public relations branch, has served as first vp of the Academy for the past two years.
Robert Rehme, an executives branch governor and past Academy president, was elected first vp; actors branch governor Tom Hanks and music branch governor Arthur Hamilton were elected vp; sound branch governor Donald C. Rogers was elected treasurer and actors branch governor Kathy Bates was elected secretary. Pierson automatically will serve as immediate past president, an officer slot.
Ganis was first elected to the Board of Governors in 1973 and served until 1977. He served another two years in 1979-1981 and was elected to the Academy board again in 1992 and served the maximum nine consecutive years. He was returned by his branch in 2002 for a three-year term and was re-elected this year for three more years.
Ganis founded Out of the BlueEntertainment, housed on the Sony lot, in 1996. Out of the Blue is in post-production on AKEELAH AND THE BEE for Lions Gate Ent., and is in pre-production on I DREAM OF JEANNIE for Columbia Pictures. Ganis recently produced MR. DEEDS and BIG DADDY for Out of the Blue.
Previously, Ganis held various positions at Sony Pictures, including vice chairman of Columbia Pictures and president of worldwide marketing for Columbia/Tri-Star Motion Picture Companies. Before Sony, Ganis was president of the motion picture group at Paramount Pictures for five years and before that was the studio's president of worldwide marketing. Previously, Ganis was svp of Lucasfilm Ltd.
Academy board members serve three-year terms, while officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive terms in any one office.
