Under Alana Mayo’s leadership, MGM’s Orion Pictures will be dedicated exclusively to inclusion on-screen and off. Variety has confirmed Mayo has been hired as Orion’s new president, and MGM is re-launching the label with a commitment to “underrepresented voices and authentic storytelling in film with a focus on developing, producing, and acquiring feature films that amplify underserved voices, both in front of and behind the camera.”

Mayo will succeed current Orion prez John Hegeman, whose tenure is ending this October. MGM Film Group President Pam Abdy and MGM Film Group Chairman Michael De Luca made the original announcement.

As president, Mayo’s responsibilities will include day-to-day operations at Orion, such as development, acquisitions, and film production and post-production. She’ll also help craft new films’ release strategies and social media campaigns alongside MGM’s marketing and publicity team and distribution partners.

“We are at an exciting and critical tipping point in our industry. For years many filmmakers and creators who have been considered and treated as outsiders have nonetheless persisted in creating visionary films that drew audiences across the globe and defined culture,” Mayo said. “Many of these films and filmmakers inspired me to pursue storytelling as a career, and to work towards creating a more equitable environment for all creators.”

“We believe deeply in creating content that reflects our global communities and we are thrilled that Alana will be heading up the newly relaunched Orion Pictures label to elevate and empower the many voices whose stories deserve to be told,” Abdy and De Luca stated. “As a company dedicated to entertaining audiences across the world, MGM is committed to increasing access for all people of color, women, the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and other historically marginalized groups as a moral and business imperative.”

Rachel Lee Goldenberg’s “Valley Girl” remake and the zombie Christmas musical “Anna and the Apocalypse” are among Orion’s more recent releases.

Mayo oversaw the production of “Just Mercy,” a drama inspired by civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s fight to free a wrongly condemned death row inmate, as head of production and development at Outlier Society. She also supervised the production of projects including WWII action drama “The Liberators” and an adaptation of fantasy novel “Black Leopard, Red Wolf.”