Urmila Venugopalan, currently Executive Vice President of Strategy & Global Operations at the Motion Picture Association (MPA), will take over as the new President and Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, effective January 31, 2025. She will succeed Belinda Lui, who is retiring after five years of leadership in the region.

Venugopalan joined the MPA in 2017, where she has played a key role in aligning the association's U.S. and international teams, enhancing global operations, and improving coordination between legal and policy functions. In her new position, she will further expand MPA members' access to local markets, foster production in emerging areas, and reinforce advocacy, operations, and talent across the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, she will collaborate closely with the MPA's anti-piracy division, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), to protect the commercial and creative interests of local screen industries. Venugopalan will also continue her current duties as the MPA's corporate board liaison.

"Urmila is a veteran leader who thrives at the complex intersections of business, public policy, and global affairs," said Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the MPA. "Urmila joined the MPA at a time of critical change and helped revitalize and realign its structure and priorities, strengthening our organization from the inside out. I have full confidence that her deep experience working with every aspect of our global business operations, coupled with her existing corporate board liaison responsibilities, will advance our members' objectives across the Asia Pacific and beyond".

Based in Tokyo, Venugopalan will report to Gail MacKinnon, MPA Senior Executive Vice President, Global Policy & Government Affairs.

"I am thrilled to welcome Urmila to my team.  She is a trusted advisor who has earned the respect of colleagues and member companies. Her work has already touched every part of our organization, and she maintains a wide-angle lens on key political and sectoral trends – all while remaining laser-focused on how we can best tell the story of a creative industry that drives local economies, creates jobs, and connects communities everywhere. With her at the helm of our APAC operation, I am confident the MPA will achieve even greater impact in the fastest-growing region", MacKinnon said. "I am also grateful to Belinda for her effective stewardship and counsel, which has greatly benefitted the MPA and our member studios in the region".

"The Asia-Pacific region has already played an important part in the history of our industry – and is set to assume a starring role in the future of great storytelling," said Venugopalan. "At this critical juncture for the film, television, and streaming industries, MPA members are more excited than ever about the vitality of this region – its enthusiastic and engaged audiences, its relentless dynamism, and its immensely talented casts and crews. I look forward to supporting our member studios and their local partners in their collective efforts to fuel local economies and enrich cultures across the region".

Before joining the MPA, Venugopalan was part of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., and worked as a senior consultant at the Albright Stonebridge Group. She earned her Bachelor's Degree from McGill University and her Master's Degree from the London School of Economics & Political Science.