Richard Shaw appointed BFI director of marketing, communications and audiences.

The BFI has appointed former Lion Television executive Richard Shaw as director of marketing, communications and audiences, the position vacated by Chris Travers in February.

Joining the BFI in late April, Shaw will lead customer and communications strategy across the BFI’s operations, encompassing venues (BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX), DVD label, theatrical distribution, festivals, including the BFI London Film Festival, BFI National Archive, Sight & Sound and BFI Lottery Film Funding.

He will oversee a team of around 70 employees responsible for marketing, public affairs, communications, sales and audience development.

Shaw has been executive producer and head of development at factual indie Lion Television since 2002. While there he worked on programmes including The Big Read: Battle of the Books, Disappearing Britain and Secrets of a Suffragette.

Prior to Lion Shaw worked at the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre and English National Ballet.

Shaw said: “This is a tremendously exciting time to be joining the BFI with British film and television enjoying such enormous critical acclaim and international success right now. The BFI has an inspiring vision to build on this success and I’m really looking forward to joining the talented team.”

Shaw’s predecessor Chris Travers left the BFI in February to take up the position of marketing and development director at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).

During Travers’ tenure the BFI underwent an organisation re-brand in 2012, launched content-on-demand service BFI Player, and re-launched its membership programme.