Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> March 8, 2004
RICHARD L. GELFOND is the co-Chairman and co-Chief Executive Officer of
IMAX Corporation, the pioneer and leader of the large-format theatre
industry. He has been a senior executive of IMAX since acquiring the
company in 1994 with his partner Bradley J. Wechsler. Mr. Gelfond is
involved in all aspects of the management of the company, including
strategy, marketing, communications, finance and theater operations. Mr.
Gelfond and co-Chairman and co-CEO Brad Wechsler presided over IMAX
Corporation's IPO in June 1994. Under their joint leadership, key
strategies have been set forth to grow the IMAX network around the
world, rapidly expanding the IMAX footprint from 100 theatres in 19
countries in 1994 to more than 235 theaters in 36 countries. Mr. Gelfond
and Mr. Wechsler have driven the significant theater growth momentum
throughout Europe and new markets including China, India, Latin America,
Russia and the United Arab Emirates. In 1997, Mr. Gelfond and Mr.
Wechsler accepted an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical
Achievement on behalf of IMAX. The award recognized IMAX's innovation in
creating the world's best film capture and projection system as well as
IMAX's acceptance as part of the entertainment mainstream. Prior to
acquiring IMAX in 1994, Mr. Gelfond specialized in leveraged buyouts and
venture capital investments, where he helped many businesses grow
through his unique entrepreneurial and management skills as well as
introducing companies to new sources of capital. Earlier in his career,
he was involved in retail management and investment banking, and was a
corporate attorney specializing in mergers and acquisition for
companies. Mr. Gelfond started his career as a law clerk for the
Honorable Max Rosen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Mr. Gelfond serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Stony
Brook Foundation, Inc., affiliated with Stony Brook University, and is
on the Board of Directors for Brookhaven Science Associates, the
management company of Brookhaven National Laboratories. He is also
Chairman of the Columbia Shuttle Memorial Trust Steering Committee, Vice
Chairman of the New York Historical Society and a Member of the Motion
Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Gelfond received his
Bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook
and a Law degree from Northwestern University School of Law. Profile
Corporation, how you see the company today?
Mr. Gelfond: IMAX was founded about 35 years ago in Canada and it has
its
