• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, March 7, 2012

Media industry veteran Gerry Byrne has been elected the next chairman of the Board of Directors of the John A Reisenbach Foundation.

The Foundation was established in 1991, a year after murder of John Reisenbach in Greenwich Village. Reisenbach, just 33 years old at the time of his death, was vice president of national advertising sales for what was then All American Television. To date, the foundation created in his honor has generated more than $6 million for programs designed to improve safety and the quality of life in New York City.

In pursuit of its mission the foundation collaborates with many community and social groups including Citizens Committee for New York City, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York Cares, New York Police Foundation, Police Athletic League, Safe Horizons and more.

Byrne has been a long time Board member and most recently, the foundation’s vice chairman. He succeeds Jim Rosenfield, Sr. Stated Byrne: “As a New Yorker in the media business and a friend of the Reisenbach family, I'm honored to be asked to take on the Chairman's role.”

Byrne is currently Vice Chairman of the Penske Media Corporation which owns leading digital media brands including Deadline Hollywood, Hollywood Life, MovieLine, and TVLine. Separately he has a media and entertainment consultancy, Fidelis Global. Earlier he was publisher of Variety.