Executive Management

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 PresidentReal 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.

Mr. Gilbert Avanes was appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer on November 5, 2019. Mr. Avanes has been an employee of and consultant to our Company since August 2007, most recently serving Interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of our Company, from January 24, 2019 through November 4, 2019. Prior thereto, Mr. Avanes served as the Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis (January 2016 to January 2019),Senior Director of Financial Planning and Analysis (January 2012 to December 2015), and as a consultant and then Senior Finance Manager (August2007 to December 2011). Prior to joining Reading, Mr. Avanes served in various finance and accounting roles over the course of a decade at Toronto Dominion Bank Financial Group located in Toronto, Canada. Mr. Avanes is a Certified Public Accountant (US) and Chartered Professional Accountant (Canada) and has a Master of Business Administration from Laurentian University and a Bachelor of Commerce (Major in Accounting and Minor in Finance) from Ryerson University.

Mr. Smerling has served as President of our domestic cinema operations since 1994. He has been involved in the acquisition and/or development of all of our existing cinemas. Prior to joining our Company, Mr. Smerling was the President of Loews Theaters, at that time a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony. While at Loews, Mr. Smerling oversaw operations at some 600 cinemas employing some 6,000 individuals and the development of more than 25 new multiplex cinemas. Among Mr. Smerling’s accomplishments at Loews was the development of the Lincoln Square Cinema Complex with IMAX in New York City, which continues today to be one of the top five grossing cinemas in the United States. Prior to Mr. Smerling’s employment at Loews, he was Vice Chairperson of USA Cinemas in Boston, and President of Cinema national Theatres. Mr. Smerling, a recognized leader in our industry, has been a director of the National Association of Theater Owners, the principal trade group representing the cinema exhibition industry.

Mr. Douglas first joined our Company in 1999, and was appointed as Managing Director, Reading Cinemas Australia and New Zealand on July 1, 2018. From 2005 to 2018. Mr. Douglas worked in our Real Estate division holding numerous roles including Director Property Development, Development Manager and General Manager Property. Prior thereto, Mr. Douglas worked in our finance team, moving into the role of National Operations Manager for our cinema division in 2001. Prior to joining our Company, Mr. Douglas worked for Myer Stores, a retail department store chain, in various business management and administration roles. Mr. Douglas earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Deakin University, Geelong Victoria and is a registered Certified Practicing Accountant with CPA Australia .

Mr. Tompkins has worked in various capacities for our Company and its predecessors for more than the past thirty-two (32) years. He has served as Vice Chair of our Company and as the President of two of its predecessors’ public companies, as a consultant and outside counsel and, since 2017, as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to his employment at our Company, Mr. Tompkins was a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Mr. Tompkins has since May 2023, served on the Board of Directors of HomeStreet, Inc. and of its wholly owned subsidiary, Homestreet Bank. Between 2007 and December 2022, Mr. Tompkins was a principal equity holder in and the Chair of Marshall & Stevens, Incorporated, a privately held valuation and consulting firm specializing in the valuation of real estate, business enterprises and alternative energy assets. In December 2022, Mr. Tompkins sold his interest in Marshall & Stevens and retired from its Board of Directors. Mr. Tompkins currently continues to provide consulting services to Marshall & Stevens, serving as the chair of its Fairness and Solvency Opinion Committee. From 1993 to 2006 (when the company went private), Mr. Tompkins served as a director and as the Chair of the Audit Committee of G&L Realty (an NYSE REIT specializing in medical properties), and from 1998 to 2001 (when the bank was sold) as a member of the Board of Directors, of the Compensation Committee, and of the Special Independent Committee of Fidelity Federal Bank, FSB. Mr. Tompkins is also the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Kirtland Farms, Inc. (a Tompkins family-owned agricultural operation in Southern Oregon). Mr. Tompkins holds a Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude) from Claremont McKenna College, and a Juris Doctorate (Magna Cum Laude) from the Harvard Law School, where he was on the Board of Student Advisors and served as research assistance to Professor James Casner (then serving as the Reporter to the Restatement of Property 2nd). Following Harvard Law School, Mr. Tompkins served as law clerk to the Honorable Justice Dean Bryson on the Oregon Supreme Court, before joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.