Bill Lindstrom will resign from his position as CEO of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) on Oct. 31. Lindstrom was hired eight years ago as the AFCI’s first chief executive.
AFCI board president Mary Nelson said a search for a new CEO is underway with plans to announce Lindstrom’s successor by the end of 2009.
Prior to becoming AFCI CEO, Lindstrom started and led the state film commissions for Iowa and Wyoming for 15 years. During his film commission years, Lindstrom also served four terms on the AFCI board of directors, including as AFCI board president from 1989-’90. He has been honored with the AFCI’s two service awards, the Dutch Horton and Crystal Vision Awards, for his work to improve AFCI’s professional development and marketing programs.
In a released statement, Lindstrom related, “What a remarkable experience. AFCI-member film commissions worldwide have grown dramatically in influence and value to their jurisdictions and to the creative industries. I feel fortunate to have been a part of that growth….and to have worked alongside the scores of visionary AFCI leaders committed to that purpose.”
Nelson described Lindstrom’s dedication to the AFCI and to the work of film commissioners worldwide as “exemplary.”
The AFCI has set up a website link for interested and prospective CEO applicants to access–www.afci.org/career–in order to learn about and apply for the position.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More