Tendo Nagenda

Tendo Nagenda is an American film producer and former studio executive, described as "one of the most high-profile black film executives."

Career

Born in Los Angeles to a Ugandan father and a Belizean mother, Nagenda graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 1997 with a double major in accounting and government. He worked at Deloitte for a year and a half before spending four months at the New York Film Academy.
Nagenda held positions at HBO, Good Universe, Warner Independent Pictures, and Plan B Entertainment before an eight-year stint at [The Walt The Walt Disney Company|Disney Company|Disney]. At Disney, he became executive vice president of production and oversaw the production of Queen of Katwe, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, A Wrinkle in Time, Dumbo, and Mulan.
In 2018, Nagenda was hired by Netflix to serve as Vice President of Original Films as part of Netflix’s move towards self-produced as well as diverse content. During this time he oversaw Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hillbilly Elegy, The Harder They Fall, The Gray Man, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. His unit handled roughly twenty films of budgets of around $25 million.
He was associated with the work of Ava DuVernay, David Oyelowo, and Ryan Coogler throughout his tenure at both Disney and Netflix.