Telefilm has revealed four new appointments as part of its action plan to increase equity and representation across its teams and the projects it supports.

The film funder has hired Ayesha Husain as lead, inclusion initiatives and content analyst in the English market, project financing, based in Toronto. Husain, whose resume includes stints with Corus Entertainment, the DGC and TIFF, will report to the national feature film executive in the English market.

Hager Namly, a former coordinator with Item 7 and sales consultant for TVA Films, has been appointed to the project financing team in the role of inclusion initiatives advisor and content analyst in the French market. Namly will be based in Montreal.

All four of the positions have been created as part of Telefilm’s action plan, which commits to creating a more equitable screen-based industry.

Montreal-based Amadou Dia will join the senior management team as head of project management. Dia, a project manager with over 25 years of experience, has previously held roles at Nortel Networks, OZ Communications, Nokia and Gurus Solutions.

Telefilm has also promoted Fabrice Ravier Berthaud to the role of inclusion initiatives advisor and investment analyst, business affairs. In the new position, Berthaud, who has been with Telefilm since 2011 in a number of roles including development analyst, will liaise with content analysts from the inclusion initiatives teams.

Berthaud will assume his new role on Jan. 11, while Husain, Namly and Dia started their roles on Nov. 30.

The hires are part of a newly implemented commitment to ensure a minimum of 50% of new Telefilm hires are individuals from diverse backgrounds by 2023. In addition, Telefilm committed to ensuring 30% of new managerial hires are from underrepresented identities over the same time frame.

Pictured clockwise from the top left: Ayesha Husain, Hager Namly, Amadou Dia and Fabrice Ravier Berthaud