Hugh Forrest is an American media executive best known for serving as the co-president and chief programming officer of

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

(SXSW), a major annual conglomeration of film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. He joined the SXSW team in 1989 and served until 2025.

Early life and education

Forrest graduated from Austin High School in 1980 and later earned a degree in English from

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

in Gambier, Ohio.

Career

Forrest joined SXSW in 1989, where he focused on the event's interactive component. Over the years, his role expanded, as he helped SXSW become a globally recognized event. He has served on the National Advisory Board for the

Poynter Institute The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a non-profit journalism school and research organization in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The school is the owner of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' newspaper and the International Fact-Checking Netw ...

and the Board of Directors for Austin

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for Knowbility, an Austin-based accessibility company.

Awards and recognition

Forrest's contributions have been widely recognized. In addition to his local honors, he was awarded Diversity Champion of the Year by the Austin Black Business Journal in 2021. In January 2023, Austin Mayor Steve Adler presented Forrest with a Key to the City for his longstanding impact on the community and the success of SXSW. In 2012, Forrest, along with SXSW Co-founders Roland Swenson, Louis Black, and Nick Barbaro, was named "Austinite of the Year" by the Austin Chamber of Commerce. In 2014, they were collectively honored as Austin Entrepreneurs of the Year by Ernst & Young. Forrest received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Kenyon College in 2018.

External links

SXSW Official Website

Hugh Forrest on LinkedIn

References

{{reflist American media executives Mass media people from Austin, Texas Living people Kenyon College alumni Year of birth missing (living people)