KOLKATA: The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has appointed a new chief policy officer to be based in its Singapore office, a first for the role. Celeste Campbell-Pitt will join AVIA on 3 May, and work with the current chief policy officer John Medeiros, who will retire after the transition period. 

Medeiros, who is based in Hong Kong, and joined the Association then known as CASBAA, in 2005 as ice president of government relations and regulatory affairs, has been chief policy officer since 2013.

AVIA’s key focus has been to represent the combined positions of its members and engage in constructive dialogue with governments so they may better understand the curated video industry. The chief policy officer spearheads this goal, developing and executing policy initiatives relevant to the video industry, in consultation with and on behalf of AVIA member companies. According to AVIA, the role has evolved over the years and  become a lot more critical as regulatory policies continue to develop alongside the sweeping changes the video industry has seen in recent years.

“This role is critical for AVIA and we have taken a long time to find the right person.  While taking over from John who has made the role his own will be no easy task, I am delighted that we have found Celeste who has such a passion for the industry and a clear vision for how to build and develop the role,” AVIA CEO Louis Boswell said.

Campbell-Pitt comes with over twenty years of business and legal experience in the media and entertainment industry across both Europe and Asia. Before joining AVIA, she was consulting with various global media and technology companies as well as private equity firms that were looking to expand into the Asia Pacific region.

Campbell-Pitt was previously the vice president and head of Business Development and Advertising Sales at Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, after her stint at Endemol Shine Asia Group as the director and head of Commercial and Operations. She has also held senior legal counsel positions in international media companies including Star, Turner, and Channel Four in the UK.