When Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, the CEO of the country’s largest cinema chain ,Natalia Baydan, followed the example of her country’s president and stayed in Kyiv, even as Russian forces were encircling the city. While the invading army has been pushed back, Baydan and her team have still had to contend with the bombings of malls where their cinemas are located, air-raid sirens constantly interrupting screenings, electricity outages as a result of Russian missiles targeting the country’s energy grid, staff and population that are on a constant war footing, as well as having cinemas in Russian-occupied territory. Despite all this Planeta Kino has been screening all the latest blockbusters and most recently even opened a new luxury cinema in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv called Re’Lux, which includes a bar and a “movie restaurant” that serves burgers, tacos, and sushi rolls. We look forward to the day Ukrainians all across a liberated Ukraine can enjoy the escapism and magic that cinema in the surroundings that Baydan and her team at Planeta Kino are already working every day to provide.

Koh Mei Lee has been the Chief Executive Officer of Golden Screen Cinemas Group in Malaysia since 2002. She has also been Chairman of the Malaysian Association of Film Exhibitors since November 2021. Koh and her team played an instrumental role in the growth and expansion of GSC from 70 to its current 503 screens in Malaysia, as well as its expansion overseas into markets including Vietnam. Some of this expansion was remarkably undertaken during the pandemic. Under Koh’s leadership, GSC has introduced technologies such as 4DX, ScreenX, Onyx Cinema LED, D-BOX Motion Seats, Dolby Atmos, and IMAX Laser. She has contributed to the development of new cinema concepts like social spaces, as well as PlayPlus – GSC’s very own family-friendly kid’s hall. In April 2021, Koh was conferred the rank of Knight (Chevalier) of France’s National Order of Merit (Ordre National du Mérite), a testament to her passion for movies and French culture.

Jane Hastings has been the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EVT since 1 July 2017 helping grow the company’s market cap to AUD $2 billion. She oversees a team of 9,000 people across Australia, Germany, and New Zealand. After Vue International’s acquisition of the company’s Cinestar chain in Germany stalled, Hastings seized the moment and began investing in upgrades to the existing theatre locations. Last year the EVT re-opened its earthquake damaged multiplex in Wellington after six years of closure, including the country’s second IMAX screen. No wonder EVT, which rebranded from Event Hospitality & Entertainment in October, has reinstated dividends. Right now all eyes are on the opening of the IMAX screen in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. Under Hasting’s leadership EVT’s Event Cinemas will be the 2023 recipient of the CinemaCon, Global Achievement in Exhibition Award. She is an active member of the Global Cinemas Federation (GCF) Executive Committee and is the Chairperson of the NATO International Committee.

CEO of Alamo Drafthouse for the last almost three years, Shelli Taylor brings an outside perspective to the exhibition industry after spending 25 years working around the world for the likes of Starbucks, The Walt Disney Company and Planet Fitness. Making her debut on the Top Women list, Taylor led Alamo through the pandemic and has been particularly focused on and successful in growing the company post-COVID as its seven new cinema openings show, with even more in the pipeline.

Helena Eklund has been steadily growing with and guiding Sweden’s largest cinema chain from its origins as SF Bio to its current position as Filmstaden and the anchor for owner AMC/Odeon Northern Europe region. In her current role of Commercial Director, Northern Europe, Eklund is in charge of the cinema chain across Norway, Sweden and Finland for ODEON Cinemas Group. She assumed the role in January 2020, just before the pandemic struck and had to help take the difficult decision to temporarily close the cinema chain in Sweden, even as smaller cinemas stayed open, in line with closures in neighboring Norway and Finland. Since reopening, Filmstaden has not rested, building a luxury multiplex with a restaurant and the country’s third IMAX screen in Uppsala, which opens next year. It also launched a raft of initiatives, such as SEK 99 (USD $9.54) tickets for Oscar nominated films, half-price tickets for pensioners, argued that cinema visits should be treated as mental welfare and even dared to challenge Swedish pop icon Zara Larsson when she said that people should be allowed to talk in the cinema, releasing not one but two cheeky PSA adverts.

Malin Lundstedt leads operations in 60 cinemas across three countries and has been a key member of the ODEON Cinemas Group (OCG) Northern Europe Senior Team for the last nine years. Heading up the development of operational strategies of guest service standards and operational standards, Lundstedt supported the roll-out of multiple food and beverage initiatives leading to record sales performances in all countries.

During 2022, Lundstedt took on an additional temporary responsibility as Operations Director for Southern Europe, leading around 4,000 cinema colleagues across seven countries – and ensured she visited all seven, achieving a new high in team engagement at the same time. As a leader, she has personally supported and developed many other key operational OCG leaders and cinema management teams. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s an active board member of the Cinema Association in Sweden.

Already the Commercial Director at Finnkino, Hannele Wolf-Mannila also became the Sales Director of Northern Europe at ODEON Cinemas Group during the pandemic. For Finnkino she is responsible for public relations and local commercial operations, while at the same time filling a leadership role for ODEON by leading a team of 65 salespeople in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Her roles in exhibition extend to board positions with the Finnish Chamber of Films and CAPA, the Norwegian cinema media sales company.

Wanda Gierhart Fearing expanded her role from CMO to Chief Marketing and Content Officer, bridging the marketing and content teams to maximize awareness opportunities for studios and their films. She plays an active part in negotiations and seeking out alternative/non-traditional content to supplement Hollywood films. In the past twelve months, Gierhart Fearing was the visionary for rollout of the exhibitor’s brand refresh, providing astute marketing and branding oversight as the company unveiled an updated logo and visual identity across its theaters and digital channels. She also capitalized on consumer demand for premium experiences by unveiling amarketing campaign to showcase the enhanced moviegoing experience Cinemark XD has to offer. Gierhart Fearing continued to enhance Cinemark’s loyalty program and expand the first domestic exhibitor-owned subscription program to hit one million members.

Melissa Thomas was brought on by Cinemark at the end of 2021 during a crucial time in the exhibition industry as it began to recover from the COVID pandemic. Through her first full year as Chief Financial Officer at Cinemark, Thomas quickly immersed herself in the company and the business and has already built a strong rapport across the industry and its investment community. With her diverse expertise and ecommerce background, she’s taken a broad and influential look at expanding the Cinemark’s offerings through technology and exploring other opportunities for ongoing innovation. This shouldn’t be a surprise since Thomas spent over a decade working in finance for the likes of Groupon and Orbitz.

Stephanie Mills is the Director of Sales, Marketing and Content for HOYTS Group where she leads a team that encompasses all departments that drive admissions throughout the cinema chain. This includes marketing, loyalty, sales of community/corporate group bookings and events, retail for gift cards and vouchers, movie programming, and partnerships. Mills implemented a strategy that considers audience segments first, matched with appropriate content or programs, with audiences being spoken to across the right marketing channels. She also has influence in determining the best session time and session volume for each title, based on the target audience’s behaviors, needs, and expectations. Mills skillset helped HOYTS recover from the pandemic, driving their box office to reach over 84% of 2019’s results last year. Since 2015 the company’s market share has grown by 5.7%. Outside of the industry, Stephanie speaks at conferences aimed at women in leadership, sharing her experiences and insights from the 20 years spent in the cinema industry.

A longtime senior member of the UGC executive team, Brigitte Maccioni took the mantle as sole CEO of the company in April of 2021. The UGC Group is one of the leading exhibitors in France with 50 cinemas (521 screens) in France and 7 cinemas (74 screens) in Belgium. Over the past two years UGC has added six new cinemas to its estate. Maccioni is credited with instituting a strategy at UGC of programming a diversity of films from Hollywood blockbusters to arthouse titles. She believes this is the reason audiences are slowly returning to movie theatres in France, albeit slowly, with attendance in 2022 up nearly 60% over 2021 and only off by 27% from pre-pandemic highs. Like many of the cinema operators in France, UGC also distributes films which Maccioni also oversees in her role.

For the past 30 years at Harkins Theatres, Racheal Wilson has been instrumental in creating and delivering the ultimate moviegoing experience for guests. Since 2018, Wilson has served as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Harkins. With more than 35 years in the exhibition industry, she formerly served as Director of Theatre Operations, District Manager and General Manager at Harkins. She is responsible for Harkins theatre operations, content and programming, IT, construction, real estate and development and human resources departments. Wilson will surely be kept busy as Harkins begins opening family entertainment center concepts in the coming years.

When taking the helm at German exhibitor association HDF-Kino in 2019 Christine Berg’s long and distinguished career working for Germany’s film funding agency, FFA, and various regional film support bodies and festivals had not prepared her for the fundamental crisis that COVID would bring to the global cinema industry. Berg tackled all challenges head on and transformed HDF-Kino into a much more dynamic lobbying body for German exhibition, turning herself into an engaging and effective spokesperson for an industry under severe pressure. This helped secure vital government support for cinemas during the crisis. In parallel, she put in place a now well-honed executive team, which – amongst many other things – transformed Germany’s slightly sleepy exhibitor convention in Baden-Baden into a modern, informative and fun industry gathering. Berg also reinstated HDF-Kino on the board of European cinema association, UNIC, herself taking an active role as part of its board of directors. Berg has managed what few of her predecessors seemed to achieve: to bring unity and vision to Germany’s complex and diverse commercial cinema exhibition community.

With almost too many titles, accolades and experience to mention, a cinema list without Edna Epelbaum wouldn’t be complete. A former academic with a PhD in Literature from NYU, Epelbaum was born into the industry with her father having been both an exhibitor and president of Swiss cinema association, Schweizerischer Kino-verband (SKV), a role she now holds herself. Epelbaum is also CEO of Cinevital, Cinepel, Cinemont, Quinnie and is a member of the UNIC board. She is heavily involved with and a big champion of the UNIC Women’s Cinema Leadership mentoring programme, as well as regularly championing individuals in the industry, she was instrumental in pushing through the first ever National Cinema Day in Switzerland in September 2015.

Heather Morgan began her career in Cinema in 2012 when she joined AMC Theatres as Director of Guest Experience working her way up to Vice President of Studio Partnership & Film Finance. In 2018, she joined Arizona-based Harkins Theatres as Vice President of Content & Programming. In 2022, she joined Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas in her current role, where she leads strategy and tactical execution efforts. Morgan is also President of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, making her the first female to hold the position in the charity’s 80-plus year history.

Suvanee Chinchiewchan is the Chief Operating Officer of SF Corporation, which operates one of Thailand’s leading movie theatre chains, SF Cinema. The company has 66 cinemas with 403 screens; 21 sites are in Bangkok and suburban areas, with 45 located in the provinces. Chinchiewchan is leading a team that has been focused on turning some of SF Cinema’s existing and new cinemas into upscale and out-of-the-ordinary experiences. Last year the company partnered with Omazz, a bedding manufacturer, to create The Bed Cinema, where patrons can watch movies while laying in beds. Chinchiewchan is also overseeing the expansion of SF Cinema’s food and beverage offerings, which has come about by teaming up with well known restaurant partners. This year the company has already opened a new cinema, the Central Ramintra Branch, and is in the process of renovating six additional sites.

Tess Manchester has been part of Vista Group since 2011 when she started out as an Application Consultant. Working in valuable roles and through a series of executive level promotions, Manchester now serves as President, Vista USA. In this capacity, she has helped develop and achieve a range of company milestones, in particular working across the 2022 launch of the Vista Group’s SaaS offering, Vista Cloud. Manchester has a degree in legal studies and is the author of multiple novels including “Pivot Point.”

Rebecca Stein has long focused on growing Showcase Cinema’s US marketing presence, currently as its Vice President of Studio Relations and US Marketing. Recently she has begun to use her talents to support National Amusement marketing programs in the United Kingdom and Latin America. Over the past year Stein oversaw the company’s group sales offering which resulted in significant year-to-year growth. She revamped Showcase’s social media program with dedicated content creation teams, a localized and targeted micro-influencer program as well as launching the company’s TikTok channel. She led a push to grow Showcase’s Starpass Loyalty, the Popcorn Club for children and subscription membership program. And these are just a few of Stein’s accomplishments last year which enabled Showcase to emerge from 2022 with a top-10 market share in the US.

Bobbie Bagby Ford is Chief Creative Officer and Executive Vice President at B&B Theatres, which has grown into the fifth-largest cinema chain in the US. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing the creative team, including the loyalty program, special events, social media, and internal communication. Her leadership and expertise have contributed to the successful expansion of the company’s brand across the country. Bagby Ford played a pivotal role in advocating for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants and other state bills during the COVID recovery. Her efforts have been instrumental in helping B&B Theatres navigate through the pandemic and emerge stronger than ever. Bagby Ford is a founding member of Women in Exhibitions (WIE).

Bridget Bagby, third-generation co-owner of B&B Theatres, is a driving force behind the family business. Married to CEO Bob Bagby, her love for the silver screen began in childhood while working at the concession stand alongside her grandparents, parents, and now her husband and three children; Bobbie, Brittanie, and Brock. Co-leading the company with a focus on quality, innovation, and family values, Bagby is a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother (her new favorite role) to seven movie-loving grandkids who cherish movie outings at their Ahma and Baba’s theatre. Under Bagby’s leadership, B&B Theatres has been adapting to industry changes and embracing state-of-the-art facilities like their flagship multiplex, the Liberty Cinema 12 in Missouri.

Brittanie Bagby Baker was born into the cinema business, quite literally. She is the fourth generation in her family to run B&B Theatres. Baker started as a concession employee at 16 and worked her way through the organization learning the ins-and-outs of the company while completing her Bachelors and Masters degrees. In 2019, Baker assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President where she currently oversees the day-to-day operations of the company. Her focus lies in creating experiences for guests and employees by leaning on the company’s core values of family, fun, joy, integrity, and innovation. Baker is proud to be a NATO advisory member as well as a member of Women in Exhibition (WIE).

As Chief Marketing Officer at Filmhouse Group, Lolo Desalu leads the highest grossing cinema marketing team in Nigeria, spearheading notable West African campaigns for numerous high-profile films. She plays a pivotal role in bringing international films to Nigerian audiences, contributing to the growth of the local film industry and the expansion of cinema culture in the region. She has also secured major cinema sponsorships, raising over NGN ?1 billion (USD $2.15 million) and establishing strategic partnerships with more than 80 brands to extend the reach of Filmhouse’s Groups messaging and offerings. She has elevated the cinema culture in Nigeria, attracting new audiences with innovative events and experiences, such as in-theatre album listening parties.

After starting her career in the world of retail, Laura Najlis spent four years as the marketing manager of Hoyts Cinemas Argentina. When Cinemark acquired Hoyts she became Marketing and Commercial Director for Cinemark Argentina and Paraguay. She has also led the development of the first Loyalty Program with Monthly subscription tier for the company in 2015, the most successful case for Cinemark in Latin America. In 2019, she became Director of Digital Marketing for Cinemark International, and in 2020 became Vice President of International Marketing for the region. At this point, Laura has extended her efforts in terms of business development, digital and loyalty through our Latin Markets. In this role she oversees business development, digital and loyalty programs throughout Cinemark’s Latin American territories.

Tori Baker is the Executive Director and CEO of Salt Lake Film Society (SLFS) and Board Vice President of The Cinema Foundation. Baker founded the National Art House PSA Project, producing and distributing 4 artist-featured PSA’s championing cinema-going. She partnered with AMC and Sundance Channel to successfully launch a nationwide television-to-big-screen project aimed to premiere television pilots theatrically in 20 arthouses and 5 US markets. Baker served as a founding board member for National Art House Convergence during the AHC conference launch years, has served on multiple National Association of Theater Operators committees, including the first Diversity & Inclusion committee and membership. Most recently, Baker raised $2M for SLFS to purchase, restore, and preserve the 1928 historic Tower Theatre in SLC. Her personal mission is to lead projects in film that build relevancy for the cinematic experience.

Colleen Barstow is the Executive Vice president of ACX Cinemas, an independent theater group based out of Omaha, Nebraska. Colleen helped to build ACX from scratch in 1988 with a small, one-screen facility in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Since then, the group has expanded their reach to 47 screens in four states. Day-to-day, Colleen is responsible for employee relations, data collection, special events and more. She serves on the executive board of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), the only current woman elected to do so, and leads the Independent Theatre Owners Committee (ITOC) as Chair.

Emelyn Stuart embodies “all things are possible when you marry purpose, passion, serious work ethic and commitment”. She’s the first Black Latina to own an independent movie theater in NY, is a film festival founder, an executive producer, MWBE, NYWIFT Board Member, an SBS Mentor, a NATO Member, an AHC Board Member and she serves as the Vice-Chair of the Independent Theatre Owners Committee (ITOC).

With a degree in business and less than a decade in the industry, Stuart has exemplified leadership and provided inspiration to filmmakers globally. In 2018, Stuart opened an independent movie theater in New York. Stuart Cinema & Cafe quickly became a beloved community movie theater. The theater offers a distribution alternative for independent filmmakers and is a resource hub for artists.

Funmi Onuma has over a decade of experience in the film industry, spending the last nine years helping grow Silverbird Cinemas into one of West Africa’s leading exhibitors. Recently, Onuma oversaw the circuit’s upgrade to laser projection. She continues to ensure that Silverbird prioritizes an entertaining experience for each release that will stay with customers after they leave the theatre. This includes transforming every movie premiere into the environment and settings shown in the film. This innovation has led to record breaking attendance for recent releases such as “The Woman King,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Avatar” The Way of Water” and “Creed III.”

Claire Gandy has worked in the entertainment industry for over twenty years, across exhibition, acquisitions and development. She is currently the General Manager, Film and Content (Australia) for Event Cinemas. Under Gandy’s programming direction Event Cinemas has championed the continued diversification of screen content. She is an active advocate of the Australian film industry and is one of the five founding members of the Australian Feature Film Group, a working body of industry representatives formed to ensure the success of the local theatrical industry. Since its inception the group has brought together all sides of the film industry for several influential events and established PRISM; a unique forum where industry players can confidentially discuss the business and its challenges.

As the Programming Manager of South East Europe for Cineplexx International in Serbia, Nevena Brasanac has established herself as an influential figure in the region’s film industry and is making a significant impact on the cinematic landscape through her work, which includes collaborating with distributors and film festivals. She has a stellar reputation for supporting local cinema productions, a topic she has studied in-depth throughout her post-graduate studies. Brasanac has made a name for herself by actively seeking to participate in the decision making process and leadership roles at Cineplexx.

While Everyman may be famed for its sofas and Spielburgers, everyone’s darling boutique cinema chain deserves as much credit for its diverse film strategy, which combines the best of mainstream and independent releases, including ones from streaming platforms, as well as repertory films and unique events. Serena Gill has been with Everyman Cinemassince 2015 and is currently the Head of Film responsible for juggling all releases across an estate that resolutely sticks to no more than five screens per site. When Gill joined Everyman the company operated 16 sites across the UK and she has helped open a further 22 cinemas since then. Gill is a recent graduate of Inside Pictures 2022, Europe’s leading film business programme.

Eva Rekettyei has been the Programming Director of Cine Yelmo for more than 25 years. Paris-born, she obtained her university degree at La Sorbonne-Paris IV and started her career for a French shopping center developer. There she learned how to conduct market research, commercialize and run a shopping center. She relocated to Spain, where the company implemented a joint venture to develop shopping centers. After the economic crisis of the mid-1990s forced the company to close, Rekettyei stayed in Span and found a job at Yelmo. At that time the company had 54 screens located in Madrid along with numerous expansion projects. Over time, Yelmo became a leader in the Spanish market and Rekettyei was part of that journey, playing a pivotal part in the company’s growth. In addition to programming, she is also in charge of all the institutional relations for the company. Rekettyei was the recipient of the 2022 CineEurope Gold Award.

Shen Yan is a unique yet common Cantonese story; a migrant worker with a technical secondary diploma came to a job interview at Youth Movie Palace in 2010. After a three month probation, she was promoted to Vice Manager of marketing, and became the General Manager in 2017. Under her leadership, the 9 screen, 1,112 seat movie palace became the 2013 national champion and record breaker in both admission (52.66%) and per-seat box office gross (CNY 51,000 or USD $8,374). The Youth Movie Palace continued to be at the forefront among the 10,000 national cinemas, ranking number four in 2018, before the number of theaters jumped to 14,000 in 2019. Yan has been able to overcome the limitations of the 72-year-old location in the middle of downtown Guangzhou, China by relying on soft power – the two loyalties: audience loyalty and employee’ loyalty. She continues leading the very first national volunteer migrant workers mobile projection team to show movies to migrant workers in their community or schools. Over 10 years the team has held 300 screenings and for over 60,000 people, all for free. This has paid off when the migrant workers then pay to visit the Youth Movie Palace. In fact, Yan’s mobile team actually made money when the theater was shutdown due to COVID.

It is not hard to see how devoted Shelly Olesen is in both her professional and personal life. She has been with the 138-year-old C. Cretors and Company for 32 years and is currently the popcorn suppliers’ Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Meanwhile her passion for travel has brought her to 80 countries on seven continents with her husband of 25 years, Martin. During her time at Cretors she has worked her way up the ranks from Western Regional Sales Representative to Senior Sales Manager, to Senior Market Manager, to Director of Sales and Marketing and finally to her current position in which she directs the company’s overall domestic and international sales and marketing efforts. Olesen has also been a member of the National Association of Concessionaires for 32 years and is member of Women In Exhibition (WIE).

Mayson Spellman has been with The Coca-Cola Company for 18 years and is currently the National Account Director on the AMC Theatres partnership – one of the longest continuous relationships for Coca-Cola since 1920. Spellman also leads the Global Coca-Cola Cinema Channel where is responsible for the overall strategy and activation of all things cinema including our industry partnerships and studio relationships. She also identifies resources and capabilities for The Company’s Global Cinema Customers. Spellman has co-chaired The Coca-Cola Company’s women’s LINC Women’s Leadership Conference and has been named a and is Co-Chair of The Compassion Lab at Coca-Cola, a volunteer group that helps bring awareness and resources to the mental and emotional well-being of our organization. She is an active and passionate member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum and received the 2023 WFF Changemaker Award.

Siranush Whyte has been Galalite’s general manager for the last seven years. Based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, she’s often the face of the company at international industry events. In 2019, the company – that has the leading market share in its native India – made a European move, setting up a factory in Poland, with Whyte playing a big role in this development.