Management Trustees & Directors » Senior Officers' Bios

Ellis Jacob, President & Chief Executive Officer, Director and General Partner
Mr. Jacob has worked in the motion picture exhibition industry since 1987. In his current position as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cineplex Entertainment, Mr. Jacob leads Canada’s largest motion picture exhibition company. Prior to the acquisition of Famous Players and the creation of Cineplex Entertainment, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Cineplex Galaxy LP. In 1999 he co-founded Galaxy Entertainment Inc. Before founding Galaxy, Mr. Jacob represented Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. as Head of Integration from September 1998 to the summer of 1999. From 1987 to 1998, Mr. Jacob held various positions with Cineplex Odeon Corporation culminating in the role of Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Jacob is a Director of Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund as well as a member of the Board of Directors and chair of the Audit Committee of the Toronto International Film Festival. He is a Director of the Motion Picture Theatre Associations of Canada, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) in the United States and a member of NATO’s Executive Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee for Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. and a member of the Board of Directors and a member of the Audit Committee for Dundee Corporation. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Baycrest Centre for Geriatrics, and a member of Baycrest’s Strategic Planning Committee and Baycrest’s Finance and Audit Committee. He is a member of the Board of Governors for Mount Sinai Hospital.

Mr. Jacob holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and is an FCA and CMA.


Gord Nelson, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Nelson has been a senior financial executive in the motion picture exhibition industry for the past several years. Before assuming his current role, Mr. Nelson worked for Cineplex Odeon Corporation for the previous 15 years and most recently was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Cineplex Odeon Corporation, Mr. Nelson worked at a public accounting firm. Mr. Nelson holds a Chartered Accountant designation.

Dan McGrath, Executive Vice President
Mr. McGrath, an industry executive for the past 21 years, was an integral member of the Cineplex team that acquired Famous Players, creating Cineplex Entertainment. Mr. McGrath is responsible for the areas of real estate, corporate planning, operations, merchandising, communications, design and construction, customer strategies (includes marketing, loyalty and interactive media) and Cineplex Media at Cineplex Entertainment. Prior to the acquisition of Famous Players, Mr. McGrath held the position of Executive Vice President of Cineplex Galaxy LP and held the same position at Galaxy Entertainment Inc. Prior to joining Galaxy Entertainment in June 2000, Mr. McGrath held various financial and operational roles within Cineplex Odeon Corporation culminating in the role of Senior Vice President, Operations for Canada. Mr. McGrath is Director and Treasurer for both the Motion Picture Theatre Associations of Canada and the Motion Picture Theatre Association of Ontario and holds a Chartered Accountant designation.

Michael Kennedy, Executive Vice President Filmed Entertainment
Mr. Kennedy joined Cineplex Entertainment as Executive Vice President, Film and Marketing in July 2005 to oversee all aspects of film programming and marketing for the company. Prior to joining Cineplex, Mr. Kennedy held senior management roles at Famous Players, Cineplex Odeon and Norstar Releasing. Mr. Kennedy is an industry veteran and his career has included roles in operations, film programming, film distribution and video distribution. Mr. Kennedy is a member of the Board of Directors of Alliance Atlantis Cinemas as well as being a Board member of the Motion Picture Pioneers Association.

Heather Briant, Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Ms. Briant joined Cineplex Entertainment in March 2006 as Senior Vice President, Human Resources. Ms. Briant is responsible for all aspects of the Human Resources function encompassing talent development, organization effectiveness, total and executive compensation and HR governance and reporting. Ms. Briant has an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto as well as the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. She sits on the boards of HOMEQ Corporation and its subsidiary, HomEquity Bank and chairs the Compensation Committee for the HOMEQ Corporation board. She is also a member of the Starlight Children’s Foundation Canadian board of directors, an organization dedicated to helping seriously ill children and their families, and Cineplex Entertainment’s national charity partner.

Jeffrey Kent, Chief Technology Officer
Mr. Kent is an Information Technology (IT) professional with many years experience in the entertainment industry. Mr. Kent oversees all technology within Cineplex Entertainment. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Kent spent the previous six years as Senior Vice President, IT for Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. Prior to joining Alliance Atlantis, Mr. Kent worked 12 years for Cineplex Odeon Corporation holding senior positions within the Finance and IT departments.

Anne Fitzgerald, Senior Vice-President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Mrs. Fitzgerald joined Cineplex Entertainment in January 2005 as Vice-President of Legal Counsel. She was promoted to Senior Vice-President, General Counsel in July 2005. Mrs. Fitzgerald has extensive knowledge of corporate and entertainment law and has worked with Canadian clients: Shaftesbury Films Inc., Mixed Media Entertainment Inc., and NoGlobalBorders Inc. prior to joining Cineplex. Her career began in the United States, where she spent a number of years as a commercial and criminal litigator and most recently held the position of Professor and Associate Director, Leadership and the Arts at Duke University in North Carolina and New York Mrs. Fitzgerald is currently a member of the Ontario, Canadian, North Carolina and American Bar Associations. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for Keen Company in New York and Peggy Baker Dance Project in Ontario.