IFTA
Leadership

Jean M. Prewitt

President & Chief Executive Officer

Jean M. Prewitt is President and CEO of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA®), the global trade association of independent distributors and producers of motion picture and television programming. She joined IFTA after a decade as a senior U.S. government official with the U.S. Department of Commerce representing the White House and Executive Branch on international communications and information policy, and as a public policy specialist in Washington D.C. representing film and entertainment interests and the high-technology community. Prior to that time, she was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of United International Pictures (the international distribution entity formed by then-Universal, Paramount and MGM-UA studios) and managed legal and government affairs on a worldwide basis. She previously practiced federal antitrust, tax, and copyright law with the firm Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine. 

An active member of several international, national and local organizations, she currently sits on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for: Film L.A., where she formerly served as Chairman, the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) and the Association of International Collective Management of Audiovisual Works (AGICOA), as well as the Board of CreativeFuture.

Prewitt graduated from Harvard University and Georgetown University Law Center.

Senior Staff

Bill Anderson
Vice President, Research & Strategic Analysis

Bill Anderson has been IFTA’s Vice President, Research & Strategic Analysis since 2003. Since joining the association in 1989 as Member Services Manager, he  creates and manages many elements of IFTA’s member services program, including the IFTA International Entertainment Tax Guide, Marketplace Reports, Market Review Forums, and its Webinar series. 

Prior to joining IFTA, Bill worked as a business affairs analyst at Columbia Pictures Television and Managing Director of the Century City Playhouse in Los Angeles, where he produced a number of theatrical productions, including the long-running hit “Bleacher Bums.”

He holds a BFA degree in theater arts from the University of South Dakota, an MFA from the University of Iowa and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.

Robin Burt
Vice President, Marketing & Membership

Vice President, Marketing & Membership Robin Burt joined IFTA in 2003 as Director of Marketing and was promoted to Vice President in 2011. Burt is responsible for overseeing marketing and sponsorship for the American Film Market (AFM) as well as membership recruitment for IFTA.

Prior to joining IFTA, he worked for a number of entertainment organizations, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Special Olympics and the organizing committee for the 1994 Soccer World Cup - all in a marketing and sales capacity. Burt earned his MBA from University of London in 1991.

Susan Cleary
Vice President, General Counsel

As IFTA’s Vice President and General Counsel for 20 years, Susan Cleary is involved in all aspects of domestic and international licensing and distribution, new media, intellectual property protection, marketplace access, and government relations on behalf of the organization, its membership and the Independent industry worldwide. In her role, she also oversees IFTA’s industry-leading services, IFTA Arbitration™ and IFTA Collections™. Most recently, she managed the year-long review and rewrite of the IFTA® Model International Licensing Agreements (MILA), the industry-wide criteria, definitions, terms and forms used every day around the world for content licensing.

Previously, Cleary served as associate counsel at the Motion Picture Association of America. Prior to that she worked in production, business and legal affairs for World of Wonder Productions and Saban Entertainment. Cleary is past Chair of the LA County Bar Association's Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law section. In 2016, she was honored by Southwestern for Outstanding Alumna in Entertainment and Media Law.

She earned her juris doctorate degree from Southwestern University School of Law, and holds a bachelors and masters degree from Rutgers University.

Jennifer Garnick
Vice President, Communications

Jennifer Garnick is Vice President of Communications for IFTA and the American Film Market. 

She previously served as Vice President of Public Relations for Participant where she created the launch campaign for its millennial cable network, Pivot, and oversaw the publicity efforts for the company's award-winning and cause-driven films, TV programming, and digital magazine.  

Prior to that, Garnick spent five years as Vice President for digital pop culture network SpinMedia (formerly BuzzMedia) where she developed and managed the digital strategies and media relations for major Hollywood talent, social influencers, and entertainment websites.  She began her career at The Lippin Group working with leading entertainment brands such as IFTA/AFM, Lifetime, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, PBS, and WireImage. 

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