The Grierson Trust has named Sylvia Bednarz as managing director ahead of this year’s awards.
She succeeds Jane Callaghan, who steps down from the documentary organisation in September after more than two decades.
Bednarz has spent nine years at Sheffield DocFest, recently holding the position of partnerships and operations director.
As well as core internal operations, she oversaw grants and sponsorships from the likes of the BFI, the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Netflix, Amazon Studios and Bafta.
Earlier in her career, she worked for Spanner Films and Current TV and partnered producer/directors with charities as producer of the Media Trust's short film strand Untold Stories.
Bednarz said the Grierson role is a “dream job to nurture the next generation of documentary storytellers and celebrate the most exciting and innovative work within our sector”.
She will work closely with Grierson Trust chair Lorraine Heggessey.
This year’s Grierson Awards take place on 10 November at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's Southbank.
See the shortlist here and nominate your Hero of the Year, sponsored by The Talent Manager, here
