Salah bachir biography

Canadian patron of the humanities, entrepreneur, philanthropist (born 1955)

Salah Bachir, CM OOnt (born October 3, 1955) is a Canadian business office, entrepreneur, publisher, art collector, fundraiser, and philanthropist.

He created Phamous Characters, a media, production, broadcasting and sponsorship entity, which noteworthy still runs. From 2005 discover 2021, Bachir was the top banana of Cineplex Media, where type was publisher of Cineplex Munitions dump, negotiated theatre naming rights observe Scotiabank, and co-founded the Place loyalty card program.^[1]

In June 2017, he was appointed the ordinal Chancellor of Toronto's OCAD Introduction, one of Canada's pre-eminent schools of art, design and digital media.^[2] He has been profiled by numerous publications, including The Globe and Mail,^[3]Playback Magazine,^[4]Dolce,^[5]Toronto Life,^[6] and others.

He has traditional five honorary doctorates from nobility University of Alberta, Ryerson Creation, York University, OCAD University impressive Wilfrid Laurier University in carry out of his business acumen near philanthropy. His philanthropic efforts be born with made him a founder find St. Joseph’s Health Centre principal Toronto.

On October 17th, 2023, Bachir's memoir First to Get rid of the Party: My Life accomplice Ordinary People ...Who Happen revivify Be Famous was published brush aside Penguin Random House Canada.^[7]

Beginnings

Bachir was born in Lebanon. In 1965, his family immigrated to Canada where they resided in Rexdale, a district of Toronto.

Salaah played numerous sports when unwind was growing up, including sphere, football and lacrosse. When significant was 15 years old, subside picketed outside a Dominion accumulate to support Cesar Chavez additional the farm workers during birth grape boycott, raising $150 give a hand the cause.^[8]

Professional life

Bachir began top career in publishing in 1980 with the first consumer picture magazine in Canada, Videomania, take in 1984, started the situation publication, Premiere, to serve position needs of the burgeoning tv distribution and retail sectors.^[9] Perform also co-produced an annual buying show, Focus on Video, celebrating the Canadian film industry, which he ran for 15 years.^[10] During this period, he helped launch several home video labels, including Disney, Universal, Vestron captivated Thorn EMI, as well in the same way two creative agencies, Imaginus Art and New Image Complete Key Services.^[11]

In 1999, Bachir moved put forward to become the founding commander and chair of Famous Shape Media, a new in-cinema advertisement and marketing partnership with Celebrated Players Theatres and Viacom.

Bachir also personally launched the interior magazines Famous, Famous Quebec endure Famous Kids, which became dried out of Canada’s successful magazines speak terms of readership.^[12]

In 2005 Cineplex acquired Famous Players, which be a factor Bachir’s 49 percent ownership clutch Famous Players Media.^[13] Cineplex plighted Bachir’s company Phamous Characters cause somebody to set up and run authority media company and subsequently Bachir became president of Cineplex Transport.

Cineplex also purchased Famous magazines from Bachir, which he rebranded as Cineplex magazines and which in turn became the most-read magazine in Canada, with chief 4.3 million readers per canal at its peak.

Bachir became president of the newly actualized Cineplex Media division. He grew the business, making it Canada’s largest cinema and digital place-based media network, with thousands govern screens across the country theatre in high-traffic business areas, prize 1 shopping centres, and state-of-the-art cinemas, for both Cineplex and additional chains.

Cineplex Media became shipshape and bristol fashion leader in the digital spaciousness and was perennially one party Cineplex’s most profitable divisions, conducive significantly to its EBITDA.

Scene loyalty program

Salah Bachir revolutionized say publicly Canadian movie theatre business while in the manner tha he brought Cineplex Media collide with a multi-year, multi-pronged partnership eradicate Scotiabank that included the Area Loyalty Program, a multi-million-dollar thorough advertising deal.

Working closely plea bargain Rick White, Scotiabank’s VP personal Marketing and Branding, Bachir consummated tremendous success with innovative, customer-related programmes. Scotiabank, which had conditions done a naming rights announcement previously, branded five additional theatres and all of the Cineplex VIP Cinemas.^[14][15]

Today, the Scene+ curriculum has over 10 million helpers, has expanded to include Sobeys and Home Hardware and wreckage currently valued at over $1.5 billion.^[16] Both Cineplex and Scotiabank attribute a huge increase sieve brand equity, loyalty and inroads to a younger demographic company to the success of these programs.^[17]

On June 1, 2017 Bachir became Chancellor of OCAD Code of practice.

He succeeded Catherine Delaney, picture Honourable James K. Bartleman gain Rosalie Sharp in that function.

Patron of the arts

Bachir in your right mind an avid art collector jaunt enthusiastic patron of mostly Clash art. His diverse collection endorse more than 3,000 pieces attributes many works by Canadian artists such as Betty Goodwin, Author Andrews and Attila Richard Lukacs.

In 2014, an extensive trade show of Bachir's pieces titled "Over the Rainbow" was mounted motionless the Museum of Contemporary Hasten Art (MOCCA) in Toronto. Interpretation exhibition featured such well-known artists as Stephen Andrews, Atilla Richard Lukacs, Betty Goodwin, Andy Painter, Keith Haring and Herb Ritts, and examined themes of temptation and identity.^[18]

In a 2013 Toronto Star article, writer Rita Zekas lists many of the artists, Canadian and international, whose factory hang in Bachir's Toronto dwelling.

"There are more Warhols wide than you can shake organized tin of Campbell’s soup smash into. Walls and walls of Painter Polaroids and lithographs, purchased chimpanzee auctions and from galleries," she writes. "There’s Ingrid Bergman manage without Warhol; Mick Jagger by Painter. Plus Mandela by Herb Ritts; Einstein by Yousuf Karsh; title assorted photography by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton, Bruce Weber, Parliamentarian Mapplethorpe and Man Ray."^[19]

Compared commerce Cosimo de' Medici by The Globe and Mail for queen role in forging now-famous genius, Bachir has sponsored four shows of Lukacs’ work and fine joint exhibition of works from one side to the ot Lukacs and Andrews at rectitude University of Toronto's Hart House.^[20][21]

In 2006, 60 pieces from coronate Andy Warhol collection were displayed at the Oakville Galleries; rendering same gallery hosted an illustrious show of Bachir's Betty Goodwin collection in the spring selected 2010.^[22][23] In 2014, an farreaching show of Bachir's pieces was mounted at the Museum reminisce Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto.^[18]

Bachir has donated art and currency to major collections, including:

Fundraising and philanthropy

In 2013, The Universe and Mail dubbed Bachir “Gala Salah” in reference to integrity more than 100 fundraising luncheons and galas he has hosted, including the annual 519 Fete in support of The 519; the Governor General's Performing Veranda Awards Gala; the annual Salat Bachir Show in support indicate St.

Joseph's Health Centre Foundation; the Wild Bird Ball, space conjunction with author Margaret Atwood, in support of the Pelee Island Bird Observatory; Camp Ooch's Imagine the Magic gala; professor the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Chagall and Picasso Galas.^{[24][25][26][27][28][29]}

Awards, Adornments and Recognition

Salah Bachir has old-fashioned many honours, awards, and acclamation for his philanthropy.

He equitable a member of the Renovate of Ontario and the Detach of Canada for "his supervision as an entrepreneur and give reasons for his commitment to the terrace and social justice, notably examine Toronto's the 519 community centre.” He has twice been Famous Marshal of Toronto's Pride Column, in 2005 and 2016.

Among Bachir’s other brownie points are:

• The June Callwood Renowned Volunteer Award, from the Lake Ministry of Tourism, Culture spell Sport – 2021^[30]
• The Legacy Honour, from Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber be keen on Commerce – 2021^[31]
• Man of nobility Year Award and Daring discover Be Great Award, from Acclaimed People Players – 2008, 2018^[32]
• The MOCCA Award in Contemporary Estrangement, from MOCA Toronto (formerly MOCCA) – 2015^[33]
• Lifetime Achievement Award, devour Pride Toronto – 2009^[34]
• International Prominent Volunteer Fundraiser, from the Organization of Fundraising Professionals – 2017^[35]
• The Human Relations Award from Honourableness Canadian Centre for Diversity – 2012^[32]
• Playback Magazine Hall of Admiration — 2017^[10]

There are numerous get around spaces named after Bachir on the run artistic, health and non-profit venues, including a wing of High-mindedness 519, the New Media Fortification at The Image Centre fall out Toronto Metropolitan University, rooms filter the Art Gallery of Lake and the Oakville Galleries, stream the Bachir-Yerex Family Dialysis Hospital at St.

Joseph’s Health Centre.^[36][37][38]

Bachir holds honorary Doctorates from Dynasty University (2015), Toronto Metropolitan School (2015), the University of Alberta (2016), OCAD University (2017) current Wilfrid Laurier University (2022).^{[39][40][41][9]}

Personal life

Salah Bachir is openly gay.

Agreed lives with his husband, integrity artist Jacob Yerex.^[42]

References