Ian Greenberg
Born(1942-06-15)15 June 1942
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died10 January 2022(2022-01-10) (aged 79)
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)President & chief executive officer, Astral Media Inc.[1]
SpouseLinda
Children3

Ian Greenberg (15 June 1942 – 10 January 2022) was a Canadian businessman and media pioneer. He was the co-founder of Astral Media Inc. and served as its president and chief executive officer from 1996 until 2013.[1]

Early life

Greenberg was born in Montreal[2] on 15 June 1942.[3] He was one of ten children of Annie and Abraham Greenberg, who worked as a municipal bailiff.[4] Greenberg grew up in a humble household, and his mother died in 1961 when he was nineteen.[4][5] He graduated from Harvard Business School's six-week Advanced Management program.[4]

Career

In 1961, Greenberg, along with his brothers Harold, Sidney and Harvey, co-founded what would eventually become Astral Media Inc. They took out a C$15,000 loan from the future father-in-law of Sidney and named their business Angreen Photo Inc., in honour of their late mother.[4][5] It was initially focused on photographic processing – drawing on the previous work experience of two of his older brothers[4] – and was based inside Miracle Mart department stores.[5][6] The brothers secured exclusive rights to sell photo merchandise at Expo 67 held in their hometown.[4]

They eventually made their business, since renamed to Astral Communications, a public company in 1974.[5] It took over the Pathé-Humphries motion picture lab that same year, and went on to be known as AstralTech.[6] The company expanded into other business areas, such as the production and distribution of films and television shows.[2][5] Although its early productions were mediocre, the sex comedy Porky's (1982) became the highest-grossing Canadian movie at the North American box office for two decades until My Big Fat Greek Wedding in 2002.[5]

The success of Porky's enabled Astral to have more room to manoeuvre financially,[2] and the Greenberg brothers quickly divested from film production in favour of pay television.[5][6] After Harold's death in 1996, Greenberg assumed control of the company as president and chief executive officer. He gradually transformed the company, which had begun as a photographic specialty business, into a pure-play media company (in the 1990s), focused on television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media properties.[5][6] The business was again rebranded in February 2000 as Astral Media.[6]

Before its sale in 2013, Astral Media had over 2,800 employees in fifty cities across Canada.[7] Under Greenberg's direction, Astral Media had grown to operate 84 radio stations,[8] 24 pay and specialty television channels,[9] and over 9,500 out-of-home advertising faces.[10] The company also operated over 100 websites.[11]

On March 16, 2012, Astral Media announced it had signed an agreement to sell the company to BCE, Inc (Bell Canada). The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) initially denied BCE's bid to acquire Astral seven months later, but ultimately approved a re-tooled bid in 2013.[12]

Personal life

Greenberg and his brothers were awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award for their exceptional contributions to philanthropic endeavours in 1993.[13] He was a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and a governor of the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.[13] He was also a member of the board of directors of Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) and Cineplex Entertainment.[14]

Greenberg resided in Montreal with his wife Linda. They had three children and nine grandchildren. He died on 10 January 2022, at the age of 79.[5][13]

Awards

  • 1993: Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award, co-awarded with his brothers[13][14]
  • 2007: Ted Rogers and Velma Rogers Graham Award[13][14]
  • 2008: Inducted in the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame[15]
  • 2013: Inducted in the Canadian Business Hall of Fame[16]
  • 2013: Academy Special Award, for exceptional achievement in Canadian film and TV[17]
  • May 8, 2014: Inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "Company Search Results". U.S. Reuters. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Pitts, Gordon (December 10, 2007). "Ian Greenberg: No. 1 with a bullet". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Ian Greenberg – Funeral Information, Obituary, Condolences". Paperman & Sons. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Astral: The Canadian media player to watch - The Globe and Mail". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2010-12-30.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Friend, David (January 11, 2022). "Ian Greenberg, media executive and co-founder of Astral, dies at 79". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Potter, Jessica (January 27, 2010). "Astral Media". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  7. ↑ Brousseau-Pouliot, Vincent (January 11, 2022). "L'homme d'affaires Ian Greenberg est décédé". La Presse. Montreal. Retrieved January 12, 2022. (in French)
  8. ↑ "Bell CEO says takeover of Astral good for Canadians". CBC News. May 6, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  9. ↑ Lasalle, Luann (March 21, 2012). "BCE–Astral deal likely to spur job cuts". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. The Canadian Press. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  10. ↑ Ladurantaye, Steve (April 11, 2012). "Astral goes mobile with HBO app". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Bell to acquire Astral Media for $3.38 billion". CTV News. March 16, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  12. ↑ "CRTC denies BCE's bid to acquire Astral". Archived from the original on 2012-10-21.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ian Greenberg, Canadian media pioneer, dies at 79". CTV News. January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 "Ian Greenberg". Canadian Business Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Canadian Association of Broadcasters". www.cab-acr.ca. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  16. 1 2 "Ian Greenberg To Be Inducted Into Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall Of Fame at CMW 2014 - Urban Hero Magazine - UHM - "Live Music" coverage of Indie, Rock, Country, Blues, Metal, R&B music and more... Now, that's EXCITING!". urbanheromagazine.com. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  17. ↑ Ng See Quan, Danielle (February 5, 2013). "Victor Loewy, Ian Greenberg to receive Academy special awards". playbackonline.ca. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
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