Board of Directors

Chair Margaret Cotter joined our Board on September 27, 2002, and currently serves as a member of our Executive Committee. She was elected Chair of our Board on December 8, 2020. Prior to this, Chair Cotter served as the Vice-Chair of our Board from August 7, 2014 to December 7, 2020. Since March 10, 2016, Chair Cotter was appointed by the Board as Executive Vice President Real Estate Management and Development, at which time Chair Cotter became a full-time employee of our Company. Prior to 2016, Chair Cotter was the owner and President of OBI, LLC ("OBI"), which from 2002 until her appointment as Executive Vice President-Real Estate Management and Development, managed our live theatre operations under a management agreement, served as President of Liberty Theaters, LLC and provided management and various services regarding the development of our New York theatre and cinema properties. The OBI management agreement was terminated with the appointment of Chair Cotter as Executive Vice President-Real Estate Management and Development. In her position, Chair Cotter oversees the day-to-day development, management and leasing of our 44 Union Square property and other New York and Pennsylvania real estate holdings. Chair Cotter is also the President of our Live Theatres business and manages our live theatre operations. Chair Cotter has produced theatrical shows in Chicago and New York and was a long-term board member of the League of Off-Broadway Theaters and Producers.

Chair Cotter, a former prosecutor for the Brooklyn District Attorney in New York, graduated from Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center. She is the sister of Vice-Chair Ellen M. Cotter. Chair Cotter is a Co-Executor of her father's estate, which is the record owner of Class A Non-Voting Common Stock and Class B Voting Common Stock. Chair Cotter is also a Co-Trustee of the James J. Cotter Living Trust (“Cotter Trust”), a Co-Trustee of the James J. Cotter Foundation (“Cotter Foundation”), 3 and the Sole Trustee of the James J. Cotter Education Trust #1, each of which is a record holder of shares of Class A Non-Voting Common Stock. Chair Cotter holds various positions in her family's agricultural enterprises. She is a director of Cecelia Packing Corporation (a Cotter family-owned citrus grower, packer and marketer). In her capacity as the Co-Executor of the Estate of James J. Cotter (“Cotter Estate”), Chair Cotter (together with her sister and Co-Executor, Ellen M. Cotter) holds various positions in various real estate entities that are part of her father’s estate, which include, without limitation, acting as the 50% Cotter general partner of Sutton Hill Associates, which is the parent company of Sutton Hill Capital, L.L.C.

Chair Cotter brings to the Board her extensive experience as a live theatre operator, practical knowledge of managing unique entertainment properties, being an active member of the New York theatre community, and her insights into theatrical production trends. In addition, her oversight and management of our various real estate assets for over twenty-six (26) years supports Chair Cotter’s ability to contribute to the strategic direction and operation of our assets.

Chair Cotter is a member of our Executive Committee. Along with her sister Ellen Cotter, Ms. Cotter is a significant stakeholder in our Company her direct ownership of both Class A Stock and Class B Stock and her positions as Co-Executor of her father’s estate and Co-Trustee of the Cotter Living Trust and the Cotter Foundation, and as the Sole Trustee of the James J. Cotter Education Trust #1 – all which hold a significant amount of Class A shares and/or Class B shares, Director Cotter is a significant stakeholder in our Company.

Vice-Chair Ellen M. Cotter joined our Board on March 13, 2013, and currently serves as a member of our Executive Committee. Vice-Chair Cotter served as Chair of our Board from August 7, 2014, until December 7, 2020. She served as our interim Chief Executive Officer and President from June 12, 2015, until January 8, 2016, when she was appointed our permanent Chief Executive Officer and President. She joined our Company in March 1998. Vice-Chair Cotter is the sister of Chair Margaret Cotter. 

Vice-Chair Cotter is also a director of Cecelia Packing Corporation. In her capacity as the Co-Executor of the Cotter Estate, Vice-Chair Cotter (together with her sister and Co-Executor, Margaret Cotter) holds various positions in various real estate entities that are part of her father’s estate, which include, without limitation, acting as the 50% general partner of Sutton Hill Associates, which is the parent company of Sutton Hill Capital, L.L.C. 

Vice-Chair Cotter is a graduate of Smith College and holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to joining our Company, Vice-Chair Cotter spent four years in private practice as a corporate attorney with the law firm White & Case in New York City. Prior to being appointed as our Chief Executive Officer and President, Vice-Chair Cotter served for more than ten years as the Chief Operating Officer ("COO") of our domestic cinema operations, in which capacity she had, among other things, responsibility for the acquisition and development, marketing and operation of our cinemas in the United States. Prior to her appointment as COO of Domestic Cinemas, she spent a year in Australia and New Zealand, working to develop our cinema and real estate assets in those countries. In recognition of her contributions to the independent film industry, Vice-Chair Cotter was awarded the first Gotham Appreciation Award at the 2015 Gotham Independent Film Awards. She was also inducted into the Show East Hall of Fame that same year. In recognition of her contributions to the movie cinema exhibition industry, Vice-Chair Cotter was honored at The Motion Picture Club Charity Event in June 2023 in New York City.

 Vice-Chair Cotter has been a valuable liaison to the film industry. Vice-Chair Cotter brings to our Board more than twenty-seven (27) years of experience working in our Company's cinema operations, both in the United States and Australia. She has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of the subsidiary that operates substantially all of our cinemas in Hawaii and California. 

Vice-Chair Cotter also currently serves as the Vice-Chair of our Board and a member of our Executive Committee. In addition, with her direct ownership of both Class A Stock and Class B Stock and her positions as Co-Executor of her father’s estate and Co-Trustee of the Cotter Trust and the Cotter Foundation – all which hold a significant amount of Class A shares and/or Class B shares, Ms. Cotter is a significant stakeholder in our Company.

Director Guy W. Adams joined our Board on January 14, 2014, and currently serves as, (i) the Chair of our Executive Committee, (ii) a member of our Audit Committee, (iii) a member of our Compensation Committee and, (iv) as our Lead Technology and Cyber Risk Director. Since 2019, Director Adams has served as the Chairman of the Board of Avem Health Partners, Inc., a healthcare management company. For more than the past twenty-three (23) years, Director Adams has been, (i) a Managing Member of GWA Capital Partners, LLC, (ii) a Managing Member of GWA Advisors, LLC, making investments in and acting as an advisor to privately held companies, and (iii) has served as an independent director on the boards of directors of Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Mercer International, Exar Corporation and Vitesse Semiconductor. At these companies, Director Adams has held a variety of board positions, including lead director, audit committee Chair and compensation committee Chair. Director Adams has spoken on corporate governance topics before such groups as the Council of Institutional Investors, the USC Corporate Governance Summit and the University of Delaware Distinguished Speakers Program. Director Adams provides investment advice to private clients and currently invests his own capital in public and private equity transactions. For a few years prior to the passing of Mr. James J. Cotter, Sr. on September 13, 2014, and through a certain period of the administration of the Cotter Estate, Director Adams, in his individual capacity, served as an advisor to Mr. James J. Cotter, Sr. providing advisory services to various enterprises now owned by either the Cotter Estate or the Cotter Trust. Until 2018, Director Adams also provided services to captive insurance companies, owned in equal shares by Chair Cotter, Vice-Chair Cotter, and Mr. James J. Cotter, Jr., that provided insurance for the Cotter family agricultural activities. Director Adams received his Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University and his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Director Adams brings many years of experience serving as an independent director on public company boards, and in investing and providing financial advice with respect to investments in public companies. In December 2017, Director Adams was recognized as a Governance Fellow for the National Association of Corporate Directors, The Gold Standard Director Credential®.  In 2018, Director Adams completed the Cyber-Risk Oversight course presented by the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Director Douglas J. McEachern has been a member of our Board since May 17, 2012, and currently serves as the Chair of our Audit Committee, a position he has held since August  1,  2012, and as a member of our Compensation Committee.

Presently Director McEachern serves as a director of Foothill Affordable Housing Foundation, a non-taxable entity, and serves as a member of the board and of the audit and compensation committees for Willdan Group, a Nasdaq listed engineering company, since 2009. From June 2011 until October 2015, Director McEachern was a director of Community Bank in Pasadena, California and a member of its audit committee. Director McEachern served as the chair of the board of Community Bank from October 2013 until October 2015, and until recently was a member of the finance committee of the Methodist Hospital of Arcadia. From September 2009 to December 2015, Director McEachern served as an instructor of auditing and accountancy at Claremont McKenna College. Director McEachern was an audit partner from July 1985 to May 2009 with the audit firm of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, with client concentrations in financial institutions and real estate. Director McEachern was also a Professional Accounting Fellow with the Federal Home Loan Bank board in Washington DC, from June 1983 to July 1985. From June 1976 to June 1983, Director McEachern was a staff member and subsequently a manager with the audit firm of Touche Ross & Co. (predecessor to Deloitte & Touche, LLP).

Director McEachern received a B.S. in Business Administration in 1974 from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. in 1976 from the University of Southern California.

Director McEachern brings to our Board his more than forty years’ experience meeting the accounting and auditing needs of financial institutions and real estate clients, including our Company. Director McEachern also brings his experience reporting as an independent auditor to the boards of directors of a variety of public reporting companies and as a board member himself for various companies and not-for-profit organizations.

Dr. Judy Codding joined our Board on October 5, 2015, and currently serves as, (i) the Chair of our Compensation Committee, (ii) a member of our Audit Committee, (iii) a member of our Executive Committee and, (iv) a member of our Special Independent Committee. Director Codding is a globally respected education leader.

Beginning in January 2025 Director Codding serves as the CEO of a nonprofit education company, Triangle Learning Community.  From October 2010 until October 2015, she served as the Managing Director of "The System of Courses," a division of Pearson, PLC (NYSE: PSO), one of the largest education companies in the world that provides educational products and services to institutions, governments and individual learners. Prior to that time, Director Codding served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of America's Choice, Inc., which she founded in 1998, and which was acquired by Pearson in 2010. America's Choice, Inc. was a leading education company offering comprehensive, proven solutions to the complex problems educators face in the era of accountability.

Director Codding received a Doctorate in Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, completed postdoctoral work and served as a teaching associate in Education at Harvard University, where she taught graduate-level courses focused on moral leadership. Director Codding has served on various boards, including the Board of Trustees of Curtis School, Los Angeles, CA (since 2011) and the Board of Trustees of Educational Development Center, Inc. (since 2012).

Through family entities, Director Codding has been and continues to be involved in the real estate business in Florida and the exploration of mineral, oil and gas rights in Maryland and Kentucky. Director Codding brings to our Board her experience as an entrepreneur, a chief executive officer, an author, advisor and researcher in the areas of leadership training and decision-making, as well as her experience in the real estate business.