Gary Knell

Gary E. Knell is President and CEO of the National Geographic Society, where he oversees the Society’s vast nonprofit activities globally. His career in media spans more than three decades, including 22 years at Sesame Workshop, where he served as President and CEO for 12 years. Prior to Sesame, Knell was managing director of Manager Media International, a multimedia publishing company based in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore. Knell is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of Heidrick & Struggles and Common Sense Media. A graduate of UCLA in Political Science and Loyola University in Los Angeles where he received his JD, he also has received honorary degrees from Kenyon College in Ohio and Mercy College in New York.