Bow Tie Cinemas’ Joseph Masher Named New President of NATO of NY

NEW YORK - It was announced today that Joseph Masher, COO, Bow Tie Cinemas, has been named the new president of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) of NY. Masher replaces Doug Oines, former executive with Clearview Cinemas, who served a number of terms as the head of the association.

Joe started his theatrical career running 35mm projectors at age 11 at a summer camp theater. At age 14, he started working for what would eventually become Loews Theaters Mohawk Mall, Schenectady, NY, selling tickets, popcorn, and running the projection booth on weekends. Working his way up the ladder, he was appointed Assistant Manager then given the General Manager position of what was then a busy single-screen theater in Latham, NY. When that theater closed in 1990, he was promoted to City Manager in Binghamton, NY, responsible for seven "hardtops" and one "drive-in" theater. In 1993, he opened the successful Loews Town Square in Vestal, NY, then one year after that was given charge of what would be the busiest movie theater in the world, the Sony Lincoln Square and IMAX® Theater in Manhattan, which he ran for the first five years of its life. In 1999, he was again charged with opening what would be Loews largest theater in Manhattan, the Kips Bay 15.

Opportunity knocked in 2000, and Joe was hired to be the North Jersey Division Manager for Clearview Cinemas, and was soon given additional responsibility with Westchester and Rockland Counties in NY, and in Greenwich, CT as well.

Four years later, Joe came on board with Bow Tie Cinemas as General Manager of the company, which had two locations at that time. The company soon acquired 12 more theaters, and Joe's title was changed to his current one of Chief Operating Officer. Bow Tie Cinemas has grown from those two locations to its current 58, including Manhattan flagships at Chelsea Cinemas and the world famous Ziegfeld Theater. Joe is now responsible for overseeing the entire operation of the company and its 1,600 employees.

In addition to his long career in the theater business, in 2011 Joe purchased the assets of a vinyl record shop and reopened it online as Duke's Records, a successful mail-order record store. An avid theatre architecture buff, Joe has been on the Board of Directors of the Theatre Historical Society of America (www.historictheatres.org) for many years, and has been a member of that organization since 2004. Joe also spearheads Bow Tie Cinemas' annual campaign for Variety-The Children's Charity of NY, and leads his company to be that organization's largest theatrical donor every year.

NATO of NY is a cinema exhibitor trade organization representing movie theatres across New York State. It is a watchdog to protect the interests of movie theatres by helping to influence state and city policy on issues affecting the motion picture industry in New York. Membership includes the largest cinema chains in New York including Bow Tie Cinemas, AMC, Regal, National Amusements, and Cinemark, as well as smaller independent theatres.