Guillermo del Toro, David Leitch, and More Join Academy Board of Governors as First-Time Members

The Academy Board of Governors for 2026-2027 include first-time members like Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro and filmmaker David Leitch, who successfully advocated for the Stunt Design Oscar.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its newly elected Board of Governors for 2026-2027, with a mix of incumbents, first-time members, and ones returning to the board after a hiatus.

Some highlights among the first-time members specifically include Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro and filmmaker David Leitch, who alongside his wife and producing partner Kelly McCormick was the primary voice advocating for the recently announced Stunt Design Oscar.

Another new change with the Board of Governors as a whole is a bylaws adjustment from February that dictated equity in board representation among branches. As of the 2026-2027 Board year, all 19 Academy branches will each have three branch-elected governors, adding additional governors to the Animation, Production and Technology, and Short Films Branches. 

To establish staggered terms, governors in these three branches were elected to one-year, two-year or three-year terms this year. So in the Animation Branch, Bonnie Arnold was elected to serve a three-year term, and Jinko Gotoh was elected to serve a one-year term. In the Production and Technology Branch, Wendy Aylsworth was elected to serve a three-year term, Vic Armstrong was elected to serve a two-year term, and Leitch was elected to serve a one-year term. And in the Short Films Branch, Kim Magnusson was elected to serve a three-year term, and Bob Rogers was elected to serve a two-year term.

Elections in 2027 will then follow the standard protocol of one governor election per branch, with three-year terms.

Governors, including the board-elected governors-at-large, may serve up to two three-year terms (consecutive or non-consecutive), followed by a two-year hiatus, after which eligibility renews for up to two additional three-year terms for a lifetime maximum of 12 years. If a governor elected in a 2026 branch election serves a term of fewer than three years, that term will not apply against governor term limits.

As a result of this election, the Board comprises 47 percent women and 32 percent from underrepresented communities, based on self-reporting.

Incumbent governors reelected to the Board (alphabetically by branch):

Lou Diamond Phillips, Actors Branch
Jinko Gotoh, Animation Branch
Daniel Orlandi, Costume Designers Branch
Hannah Minghella, Executives Branch
David Dinerstein, Marketing and Public Relations Branch
Wendy Aylsworth, Production and Technology Branch
Kalina Ivanov, Production Design Branch
Mark P. Stoeckinger, Sound Branch
Dana Stevens, Writers Branch

Elected to the Board for the first time (alphabetically by branch):

Michael Goi, Cinematographers Branch
Guillermo del Toro, Directors Branch
Anne Goursaud, Film Editors Branch
Patricia Dehaney, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch
Kris Bowers, Music Branch
Fred Berger, Producers Branch
Vic Armstrong, Production and Technology Branch
David Leitch, Production and Technology Branch
Kim Magnusson, Short Films Branch

Returning to the Board after a hiatus (alphabetically by branch):

Bonnie Arnold, Animation Branch
Bernard Telsey, Casting Directors Branch
Roger Ross Williams, Documentary Branch
Bob Rogers, Short Films Branch
Paul Debevec, Visual Effects Branch

They will join returning governors 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 A. Shropshire, Chris Tashima, Kim Taylor-Coleman, Jean Tsien, Marlon West, Gigi Williams, and Rita Wilson.