MONTRÉAL, Jan. 11, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ – The Bell team is mourning the loss of Astral Media co-founder and BCE Board member Ian Greenberg, who passed away yesterday at the age of 79. Respected as a role model in corporate leadership, media innovation and community service, Mr. Greenberg built Astral, now part of Bell Media, from a photography retailer into an international multimedia leader.

“With the passing of Ian Greenberg, Canada has lost a business visionary and media legend, and we at Bell have lost a wise and affable colleague and friend,” said Gordon Nixon, Chair of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada. “Ian inspired all of us on the BCE Board with his integrity, insight and optimism about the opportunities ahead for Canadian media, and we will miss him greatly.”

“I am tremendously proud to have known and worked with Ian Greenberg, a fellow Montréaler, a mentor and an enduring inspiration to me. Partnering with Ian on BCE’s acquisition of Astral Media and the national expansion of Bell Media, I was always impressed by his deep business acumen, natural integrity and warm sense of humour,” said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell. “On behalf of the entire Bell team, I extend our deepest sympathies to Ian’s family, friends and everyone fortunate enough to have known him.”

Ian Greenberg co-founded Astral with his brothers in Montréal in 1961. As the company began its transition from photography retailer into a global content creator and distributor in the 1990s, Mr. Greenberg assumed the role of CEO and presided over 16 consecutive years of profitable growth before Astral Media’s acquisition by BCE in 2013. He joined the BCE Board as a Director following the acquisition and served on the Audit and Management Resources & Compensation committees.

A member of both the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame and the Canadian Business Hall of Fame, in 2007 Mr. Greenberg received the Ted Rogers and Velma Rogers Graham Award for his significant contributions to Canadian broadcasting. Mr. Greenberg and his brothers received the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award for their support of a wide range of philanthropic causes. He was a member of the Business Council of Canada and served as a governor of Montréal’s Jewish General Hospital.

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