Rudy Buttignol out as president and CEO of Canada’s Knowledge Network

Rudy Buttignol, longtime president and CEO of Canada’s Knowledge Network, is set to exit the provincial public broadcaster next week.

Rudy Buttignol (photo via CC)

His departure comes four months after the organisation, which operates in the province of British Columbia, undertook a racial equity audit that indicated “non-diverse” producers had received 98.3% of Knowledge Network’s pre-licence funding over the past seven years. BIPOC producers received 1.7% of pre-licence funding during that same period, while Indigenous production companies received 0%, according to the report.

Knowledge Network’s board of directors said it had “determined that now is the time for renewal as it considers the future and how best to move the organisation forward.”

The board did not directly address the audit’s findings but added it was “looking at new opportunities to build on Knowledge Network’s success as the organisation evolves and adapts to changes in the broadcast industry and the changing needs of British Columbians.”

He has served as president and CEO since 2007 and has led the provincial broadcaster as it has repositioned itself in the streaming era. In addition to spearheading a network rebrand that resulted in the tripling of donor revenues to more than C$6m (US$4.64m) annually, he also guided the launch of the Knowledge Endowment Fund, which is now valued at over C$22m.

The organisation’s board said it acknowledged Buttignol’s “significant contributions to public broadcasting in [British Columbia] during his 15 years of service.”

A national recruitment process for his successor will begin shortly. Over the next few weeks, the board said that it will appoint an interim president and CEO to lead the company during the transition phase. Buttignol’s last day is June 30.