Rudy Buttignol, C.M. is an independent broadcast executive, and moderator at the documentary forums in Asia and Europe. He was President and CEO of Knowledge Network (2007-2022) and concurrently President of BBC Kids Network (2011-19); Commissioning Editor and Creative Head of Network Programming at TV Ontario (1993 to 2006); and an independent writer, director and producer of documentaries and children’s series (1975-1993).  His award-winning commissions include documentary series Emergency Room; Search & Rescue North Shore; British Columbia; An Untold History; Emmy/Grammy-winner Yo-Yo Ma: Inspired by Bach; and Afghanistan, The Wounded Land. Feature documentaries include Manufactured Landscapes and Oscar-nominated Writing with Fire. Buttignol was born in Pordenone Italy, graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Toronto’s York University, and executive programs at Harvard and Stanford. He is the winner of nine Canadian Academy Awards, an honorary Doctor of Letters, and Member of the Order of Canada.