American Film Institute to lose CEO

LOS ANGELES, June 9 (UPI) -- Jean Picker Firstenberg has decided that she will step down next year as the chief executive officer of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

Daily Variety reports that Firstenberg, only the second person ever to head the organization, will hand over control after the AFI celebrates its 40th anniversary next year and locates a qualified successor.

Since 1980, when she first took over control of the organization from original CEO George Stevens Jr., Firstenberg has changed the AFI from a federally funded institute into an expansive self-sufficient entity, the Hollywood Reporter details.

"AFI's past 26 years have been marked by remarkable growth, innovation and reinvention, and the driving force behind it all has been the leadership of Jean Picker Firstenberg," said Howard Stringer, AFI Board of Trustees chairman.

Firstenberg has said she had been contemplating the change for the last three years and is looking forward to spending time with her six grandchildren after she steps down, it was reported.