Mara Gourd-Mercado (pictured) has been nominated as executive director of the Quebec section of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Canadian Academy CEO Beth Janson and board of directors chair Sophie Deschênes announced the decision yesterday (Feb. 8). Gourd-Mercado will begin the role previously held by Patrice Lachance on Feb. 22.

Lachance retired at the end of 2020 after 28 years as executive director and 32 years with the Canadian Academy.

Gourd-Mercado has worked in the film industry for more than a decade, serving as executive director of Montreal documentary festival RIDM between 2015 and 2020.

“Mara’s entrepreneurial spirit, general management experience and thorough understanding of the issues facing our industry make her the ideal person to lead the Quebec section, and a peerless collaborator for the national office,” said Janson, in a statement.

“I’m so excited to join the Academy and I feel privileged to follow in the steps of Patrice Lachance, whose dedicated tenure and many achievements have shaped the history of the Quebec section,” said Gourd-Mercado. “I’m honoured by the trust placed in me and I’m eager to collaborate with the many stakeholders in our community to build on the future of the Academy in Quebec together.”