Richard L. Gelfond (born 1955) is an American business executive and the Chief Executive Officer of

IMAX Corporation IMAX Corporation is a Canadian production theater company which designs and manufactures IMAX cameras and Projection screen, projection systems as well as performing film development, production, post-production and distribution to IMAX-affiliat ...

Early life and education

Gelfond was raised in

Plainview, Long Island Plainview is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Oyster Bay in east central Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 27,100. The Plainview post office has the ZIP code 11803. Plainv ...

. He earned his bachelor's degree from

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

in 1976, and his Juris Doctor from

Northwestern University School of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...

in 1979.

Career

Gelfond started his career as a law clerk for U.S. Court of Appeals judge

Max Rosenn Max Rosenn (February 4, 1910 – February 7, 2006) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Education and career Born to a Jewish family in Plains, Pennsylvania, Rosenn received a Bachelor o ...

. He later worked as a lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb and as an investment banker at

Drexel Burnham Lambert Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. was an American multinational investment bank that was forced into bankruptcy in 1990 due to its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by senior executive Michael Milken. At its height, i ...

. In early 1986, he founded Clean Street USA, a dry cleaning store chain in Long Island. In September 1986, he quit a law firm to help his brother David Gelfond manage the chain. By 1988, he was serving as president of the company. Gelfond joined IMAX Corporation as vice chairman in 1994 when the investment company he co-founded and was a principal of acquired IMAX. He became co-CEO in 1996, and CEO in 2009. In 1996, Gelfond received an Academy Award on behalf of IMAX for Scientific and Technical Achievement.

Other activities

In 1988, Gelfond was appointed chairman of the advisory board of the Business and Industry Center at Stony Brook University. He became chair of the board of trustees of the

Stony Brook Foundation Stony may refer to: Places * Stony Brook (disambiguation) * Stony Creek (disambiguation) * Stony Lake (disambiguation) * Stony River (disambiguation) * Stony Island (disambiguation) * Stony Point (disambiguation) * Stony Mountain (Missouri) * St ...

. Gelfond was vice chairman of the board of trustees of the

New York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

. He is chairman of the steering committee of the Columbia Shuttle Memorial Trust.

Personal life

Gelfond had high levels of mercury in his blood following a diet of "sushi twice a day for two decades".

Awards

In 2004, Gelfond was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Stony Brook University.

References

External links

* 1955 births 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American businesspeople American entertainment industry businesspeople American technology chief executives IMAX Living people New York (state) lawyers Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni People from Long Island Stony Brook University alumni {{US-CEO-stub