Hugh Forrest is Chief Programming Officer for SXSW. He oversees content for the SXSW Conference, as well as the Music Festival, Film Festival and EDU aspects of the programme.

Hugh was named “Austinite of the Year” in 2012 by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and in 2014, he and other SXSW Directors were named Austin Entrepreneurs of the Year by Ernst & Young. He recently received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Kenyon College, his alma matter.

Beyond SXSW, he has served on the National Advisory Board for the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is part of the Board of Directors for Austin Habitat for Humanity and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Austin-based accessibility company Knowbility.

Before joining the SXSW team, he founded The Austin Challenger and wrote for several other newspapers and publications.

SXSW Online is schedule March 16-20 2021.