29 Nov 2022

Stephanie Ndlovu and Ben Plumley on behalf of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation announced today that Georgia Arnold will step down as Executive Director, in September 2023. The Board of Directors have commenced a search for Georgia’s successor.

Georgia Arnold said, “I’ve had the privilege to represent MTV Staying Alive for the last 25 years, and I know that the Foundation is nothing if it isn’t for the people that we work with, and their determination to enable young people to make their own choices about their lives. I’m proud of the dynamic and inspiring global leadership team we have built to create exceptional content that is relevant and impactful for the individual young people who interact with it. So I have informed the Board that it is time I pass the baton to a new leader who will be steeped in the lived experiences of the communities and people that we work with.”

Board Co-Chairs Stephanie Ndlovu and Ben Plumley said, “Georgia’s leadership over the past 25 years has been utterly transformational. Through her vision, innumerable lives of young people have been transformed, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Georgia has set new standards in how to leverage traditional and new media to enable young people to take control of their lives.”

They added, “the Board of Directors are profoundly grateful to Georgia for everything she has done, and we look forward to working with her to identify and transition in her successor.”

The Board of Directors has appointed Mission Talent to lead the search for a new Executive Director, and the job will be advertised from mid-January 2023. The recruitment of the Executive Director will continue the organization’s transformation into a Global South-led organization, rooted in the lived experience of the communities which we serve, in order to better serve them.

In the meantime, the Foundation will continue to produce and air exciting new content with MTV Shuga Down South (South Africa) series 3, MTV Shuga Naija (Nigeria) series 5, and MTV Nishedh (India) series 2 premiering between 2022-2023.