Alan Greenberg (businessman)

For the former chairman of Bear Stearns, see Alan C. Greenberg.

Alan Greenberg (born November 6, 1950) has served as a creator and operator of interactive and traditional media focused on the education, healthcare, and global travel service sectors. He was the President of Avenues: The World School and is the founder and CEO of immersive video/experience company Illuminarium Experiences. ^[1][2][3]

History and career

Greenberg graduated from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 1972 from the College of Communications with a degree in advertising.

He went on to become the Vice President of Whittle Communication, where he launched publishing, interactive and broadcast properties.

In 1981, Greenberg took over as publisher of Esquire magazine, where he was responsible for the magazine’s revenue economic turnaround between 1981 and 1986.^[4][5] Greenberg then founded Greenberg News Network, which created a medical education and healthcare news organization called Medcast, which was purchased by WebMD in 1999.^[6][7]

He established Travel Holdings as a global interactive travel distribution firm, which now does business in 13 languages and in over 100 countries.^[8] He served as CEO of Travel Holdings until 2008.^[9] Business-to-business travel intermediary (or "bed bank") HotelBeds purchased Travel Holdings in 2017.^[10]

On March 11, 2010, Greenberg was honored with the University of Tennessee’s College of Communication and Information's (CCI) 2010 Donald G. Hileman Distinguished Alumni Award. It is awarded to college alumni who have made notable contributions to the field of communication and information.^[11]

In 2013, Greenberg founded Avenues: The Word School, an international system of for-profit private schools, with former president of Yale University Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. and education executive Chris Whittle.^[12][13] As of May 2021, the school has campuses in New York City, New York, Saõ Paulo, Brazil and Shenzhen, China, and also offers classes online.^[14]

In 2019, Greenberg founded immersive experience company Illuminarium Experiences, where he serves as CEO, with partners RadicalMedia, Rockwell Group and Legends Hospitality.^[2][15] The first Illuminarium opened in 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia (where the company is based), along the city’s BeltLine, with a safari show entitled “WILD: A Safari Experience.” ^[16][17][18] A Las Vegas, Nevada venue, at Area15, is planned for January 2022 and a Miami, Florida location for spring 2022.^[3] A theater is planned to open at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois in 2023.^[19]

Personal life

Greenberg is married to Joy Greenberg. They have three children, Alison, Zachary and Aaron.

References

1. . Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
2. Takashi, Dean (January 11, 2021). "Panasonic will help create immersive entertainment spectacles in Illuminariums". VentureBeat. from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
3. Campos, Guy (January 13, 2021). "Panasonic signs huge immersive projection deal". AV Magazine. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
4. Dougherty, Philip H. (November 20, 1986). "ADVERTISING; Esquire's Revivifier Moves On". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
5. Flory, Josh. "How a group of young unknowns from Knoxville turned around Esquire magazine". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
6. "Healtheon And WebMD Plan to Buy News Service." by Saul Hansell, New York Times - July 01, 1999 [1]
7. Barry, Tom. "Greenberg gets to work on travel site turnaround". www.bizjournals.com. from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
8. . February 8, 2011. Archived from the original on February 8, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
9. . July 17, 2011. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
10. Berrigan, Tom. "Hotelbeds Agrees to Acquire Tourico". The Inbound Report. from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
11. "College of Communication and Information Honors Greenberg with Hileman Award – News". news.utk.edu. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
12. Anderson, Jenny (May 2, 2013). "Is This the Best Education Money Can Buy?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
13. Clarke, Katherine (February 10, 2021). "Chris Whittle Slashes Price of His Hamptons Estate to $95 Million as Debts Loom". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
14. Warren, Katie. "Inside an exclusive, $56,000-a-year NYC private school, where Wall Street execs and tech millionaires send their kids and every student gets a MacBook and an iPad". Business Insider. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
15. Coates, Charlotte (May 6, 2021). "Illuminarium Experiences to open first venue in Atlanta 2021". Blooloop. from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
16. Kelley, Colin (April 14, 2021). "New Worlds: Illuminarium will create 'cinematic immersion' on the BeltLine this summer". Atlanta Intown. from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
17. Ho, Rodney; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Illuminarium, an 'immersive' entertainment experience, opening in Atlanta this summer". ajc. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
18. Kelley, Colin (April 14, 2021). "New Worlds: Illuminarium will create 'cinematic immersion' on the BeltLine this summer". Reporter Newspapers. from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
19. McGowan, Elliot (September 8, 2021). "Navy Pier's Crystal Gardens Space Is Being Turned Into An Enormous High-Tech 'Illuminarium' Exhibit". Secret Chicago. from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.