Honoree: Donna Langley

Chairman
Universal Filmed Entertainment Group

As chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG), Donna Langley, DBE, continues to impact culture and champion unique storytelling across a plethora of content platforms while at the helm of one of the world’s premier studios. She is responsible for global business strategy across Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Focus Features, Universal Pictures International, and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment along with being a key member of the NBCUniversal executive leadership team.

For nearly two decades, Langley has distinguished Universal as the home to a generation of emerging filmmakers and content creators who champion original and inclusive narratives that reflect the global experience. Langley’s vision has resulted in record global profit for the studio, including the most profitable years in its 107-year history. Her leadership recently kicked off a post-COVID summer at the cinemas, allowing Universal to reignite and dominate the box office by delivering dynamic entertainment for audiences of all ages and tastes. These films included “F9,” DreamWorks Animation’s “The Boss Baby: Family Business” and Blumhouse’s “The Forever Purge,” which occupied the top three spots at the domestic box office over the July 4th weekend – accounting for 77% of the overall gross. This marked the first time Universal films have gone back-to-back-to-back on the weekend charts in more than three decades – another testament to Langley’s unparalleled innovation and vision.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Langley represented the film and media community to get the industry safely back to work as part of Los Angeles County’s Economic Resilience Task Force. Working alongside other key figures, she oversaw the composition of a safety guide (now the industry standard) for “Jurassic World: Dominion” to return to production in the U.K., becoming the first film to do so since the pandemic shutdown.