Timothy “Tim” T. Kelly is an American

media executive A media proprietor, also called a media executive, media mogul, media tycoon, or press baron is an entrepreneur who controls any means of public or commercial mass media, through the personal ownership or holding of a dominant position within a ...

, film producer, and conservationist. He is recognized for his role in moving the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

from a primarily print-based organization to a multimedia global force in television and digital media. Kelly engineered the launch of the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

in 1997, and was named President of National Geographic in 2011. He also served as President and CEO of the National Geographic Global Media group and President and CEO of National Geographic Ventures. Kelly announced he would be leaving National Geographic in September 2012.

Career at National Geographic Society

Kelly joined the National Geographic Society as an executive producer in its television division. In 1985, he created the award-winning

National Geographic Explorer ''National Geographic Explorer'' (or simply ''Explorer'') is an American documentary television series that originally premiered on Nickelodeon on April 7, 1985, after having been produced as a less costly and intensive alternative to PBS's '' ...

series and went on to serve as President of National Geographic Television. Under his leadership, the National Geographic Television won 138

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

. In 1997, Kelly oversaw the development of the National Geographic Channel. The channel was launched in Europe and Australia initially, and expanded into the United States in 2001. As of 2012, it has a presence in 173 countries. In 2012, he also presided over the launch of

Nat Geo WILD National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27% ...

, a sister channel focused on animal-related programs. Kelly also created National Geographic Films—which won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for

March of the Penguins ''March of the Penguins'' ( French ''La Marche de l'empereur''; ) is a 2005 French feature-length nature documentary directed and co-written by Luc Jacquet, and co-produced by Bonne Pioche and the National Geographic Society. The documentary d ...

(2005) and received an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

nomination for Restrepo (2010)—and National Geographic Cinema Ventures group, which distributes films to both theatrical and giant-screen movie outlets globally. He was executive producer of Imax Films such as:

Mysteries of Egypt ''Mysteries of Egypt'' is an IMAX film about Howard Carter, Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun, King Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. Directed by Bruce Neibaur, the film was released June 2, 1998. Cast * Omar Sharif - Grandfather * Kate Maberly ...

, Lions 3D, Forces of Nature, Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure, The Last Lions and Lewis & Clark.

Personal life and education

An avid

outdoorsman Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

, Kelly is recognized for his work in developing the role of

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

in conservation. He serves on the board of the American Prairie Foundation, a private nonprofit that is creating a wildlife conservation area of 3,500,000 acres (14,000 km2) in northeast

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

through a combination of private and public lands. Kelly also serves on the board of Great Plains Conservation Trust, which is dedicated to perfecting ecotourism as conservation movement. The Trust manages over one million acres of African wilderness as well as safari camps that work to preserve the natural habitats of iconic wildlife and to support local people. Tim Kelly grew up in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Tim T. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people National Geographic Society University of Colorado alumni