Catherine A. Repola, longtime western executive director of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, will succeed Ron Kutak as the top executive in the national executive director slot in November.
The guild, which operates as IATSE Local 700, made the announcement Sunday. Kutak announced recently that he’s retiring after serving more than 30 years in the position.
“The Executive Search Committee’s recommendation to hire Cathy was unanimously endorsed by our Board of Directors,” said guild president Alan Heim. “We are confident that we made an excellent choice based on her wealth of experience and long-standing commitment to the welfare of our community and the overall labor movement.”
Repola has been with the guild since 1992.
“I am both excited and honored to be given this opportunity to move our union into its next phase,” she said. “I am grateful for Ron’s mentorship; we have been a team in the true sense of the word. His accomplishments laid the foundation for us to continue to make great strides.”
Repola joined the Editors Guild as assistant executive director, a post she held for 18 years. She oversaw the administrative mergers of IATSE Locals 771 and 780 into one national Editors Guild, renamed Local 700, and the transfer of post-production sound members of IATSE Local 695 into MPEG as well as the merger of IATSE Local 854 into the guild in 2000 and IATSE Local 683 in 2010.
In 2010, she was promoted to western executive director and during her tenure was appointed by IATSE International president Matthew D. Loeb to serve as chair of the first-ever IATSE Women’s Committee in 2015. She was elected to the board of directors of FilmL.A., Inc., in 2016.
