Michèle Maheux is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for TIFF and has been with the organization since 1989, holding progressively more senior positions. Maheux’s focus includes strategic planning, leadership development, staff and volunteer resources, special projects and key operational activities at TIFF and for TIFF Bell Lightbox.

With 35 years of experience in the cultural arena for private and governmental organizations, Maheux has accrued a wealth of knowledge and experience in the sector. She worked in the distribution and exhibition fields of the film industry and established her own consulting company — MMM Marketing — which specialized in corporate communications and marketing. As Assistant to the Director of the library at the Canadian Film Institute (CFI) in Ottawa, she worked with Piers Handling, CEO and Director of TIFF, marking the beginning of their decades-long collaboration, which continues today.

Maheux has been a member of provincial, municipal, industry and arts organization committees and advisories, has served as a juror at international film festivals around the world and has been a mentor for arts administrators.

In December 2011 she was recognized by WXN among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and in September 2012 she was awarded, with Piers Handling, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Maheux holds the ICD.D designation, after completing the Directors Education Program at the Rotman School of Management in March 2013. Maheux is past Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of Ryerson University and is currently the Honourary President of the Ryerson Communication and Design Society (RCDS). In December 2014 she was appointed as Director of the Movie Theatre Association of Canada.

June 2016