Jesse Armstrong, the creator and executive producer behind HBO’s “Succession,” has been added to the list of speakers at this year’s Banff World Media Festival. The writer, whose credits also include the HBO film “Mountainhead,” will conduct a keynote at the fest, to be moderated by CBC Q’s Tom Power.
“Jesse Armstrong doesn’t just capture the cultural conversation, he drives it. Having him join us at Banff alongside an incredible lineup of creators, executives, and industry disruptors says everything about where the global media business is right now: bold, unpredictable, and evolving fast,” said Banff executive director Jenn Kuzmyk.
The 47th annual Banff World Media Festival takes place from June 14 to June 17 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Banff had previously announced that Netflix exec Jinny Howe, who assumed the role as head of U.S. and Canada scripted series in August, had been added to this year’s Banff World Media Festival as a keynote speaker.
New to the schedule, Banff will hold a “In Conversation with Henry Winkler,” which looks at the actor’s History channel series “Hazardous History” and his work with A+E Factual Studios. And “In Conversation With Georgie Holt” will center on a chat with the CEO of FlightStory, the company behind Steven Bartlett’s “Diary of a CEO” podcast.
Also, Allied Global Marketing CEO Adam Cunningham will lead an opening-day session about the future of media, entertainment, marketing, AI, and the cultural landscape. Banff will also feature a brand storytelling panel featuring Adam Puchalsky, President of Brand Studio at Blink49 Studios; Brendan Gaul, Global Chief Entertainment Officer of McCann; Oliver Gray, Vice President of Network Sports and Client Partnerships, The E.W. Scripps Company; and Daniel Mekinda, Executive Vice President, WPP Media Canada.
New this year is “Fandom Wednesday,” which Banff is dubbing a track of programming on June 17 with speakers including Webtoon Prods. prexy David Madden, Hayu marketing director of Americas Melissa Ahlstrand, Bell Media VP of content development and programming Justin Stockman, TikTok global head of entertainment partnerships Dawn Yang, and others.
Also previously announced is “In Conversation with the Honourable Marc Miller,” the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, as well as a keynote conversation with Vicky Eatrides, chairperson and CEO of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Spain is the “Country of Honour” for 2026.
The Banff World Media Festival has also revealed nominees for the 2026 Rockie Awards International Program Competition, which takes place Tuesday, June 16, at the annual event. Hosted by Allana Harkin (“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee”), the event takes place at the same time as the Banff Gala Awards. See the full list of nominees here.
As for Armstrong, the British author, screenwriter and producer co-created the Channel 4 comedy series “Peep Show” and “Fresh Meat,” and was a writer on “The Thick of It” and “Four Lions.” Among his accolades are four Primetime Emmy Awards for outstanding writing for a drama series for “Succession.” “Mountainhead,” his directorial debut feature, is nominated at this year’s Rockie Awards.
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