HANK J. RATNER President and CEO, Madison Square Garden

Hank J. Ratner is president and CEO of Madison Square Garden and its many entities, which include  renowned performance venues, entertainment properties, professional sports teams and television networks. Mr. Ratner also serves as vice chairman of Cablevision Systems Corporation.

As MSG’s vice chairman, Mr. Ratner directs the overall growth strategy and day-to-day operations of the business.  He also serves as alternate governor to the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League on behalf of the New York Knicks and Rangers.  

MSG's signature assets consist of some of the nation's most popular entertainment and sports properties, including "The World's Most Famous Arena," along with New York's Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre, and The Chicago Theatre.  Other MSG entities include the New York Knicks, Rangers and Liberty; MSG Entertainment, a live-entertainment company; MSG and MSG Plus, regional sports and entertainment networks; and Fuse, a national music network.  In addition, MSG owns a minority-equity interest in Front Line Management, the industry’s largest personal music management firm, and has an exclusive co-booking agreement with the Wang Theatre, Boston’s venerable performing arts venue.  

Among his most recent endeavors, Mr. Ratner is spearheading the renovation of MSG, which will transform the arena's interior into a state-of-the-art building that will significantly enhance the experience of customers, sponsors, athletes and performers. Slated to begin in 2009, the project will include a dramatically redesigned Seventh Avenue entrance, new seats, improved sightlines, spectacular public concourses and a restoration of the Garden’s distinctive and celebrated ceiling.  

A long-time Cablevision executive, Mr. Ratner helps to set corporate direction and strategy for the company.  In addition, he is the primary executive responsible for overseeing Cablevision’s major business partnerships and transactions, working closely with its Chief Executive Officer and MSG Chairman James Dolan on the company’s overall advancement.  

Prior to being named MSG and Cablevision vice chairman, Mr. Ratner served as vice chairman of Rainbow Media Holdings, the programming subsidiary of Cablevision. At Rainbow, he helped lead the executive management team that has directed AMC, IFC, Bravo, WE tv, Fuse, Lifeskool, News 12 Networks, Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Sports Networks.

Throughout his tenure, Mr. Ratner has been influential in formulating and implementing management activity and strategic direction for Rainbow, Cablevision and MSG.  He played a key role in bringing two of the country’s landmark showplaces – New York City’s legendary Beacon Theatre and the historic Chicago Theatre – under MSG management.  In addition, he helped to secure a multi-year deal between MSG and the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil.  In 2005, Mr. Ratner led Cablevision’s negotiations with Fox to restructure the ownership of assets held by Regional Programming Partners, a partnership between the two companies. This restructuring gave Cablevision, among other benefits, 100 percent ownership of MSG and its properties.

In addition, Mr. Ratner has a long history of managing Cablevision’s sports and entertainment programming rights and relationships, as well as its programming development efforts. This included negotiating Rainbow’s sale of Bravo to NBC. Mr. Ratner also played a primary role in the agreement between Rainbow and MGM, and the establishment and management of Rainbow’s long and fruitful partnership with NBC.

As chairman of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the non-profit that works closely with all areas of Madison Square Garden, Mr. Ratner has been a driving force behind the creation and significant expansion of the charity’s programs, enhancing its commitment to make dreams come true for children facing enormous obstacles.  Since its inception in 2006, Garden of Dreams has created more than 800  once-in-a-lifetime experiences at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre and at the MSG Training Center, brightening the lives of more than 95,000 tri-state area children in crisis, and their families.

Mr. Ratner joined Cablevision as assistant general counsel in 1987. A year later, he moved to Rainbow Media, rising to the position of Rainbow’s chief operating officer in 1998.  Mr. Ratner was then promoted to vice chairman of Rainbow Media in 2002 before moving to Cablevision and MSG later that year.

Previously, Mr. Ratner was an associate with the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell. He received a bachelor’s degree and doctorate of law with distinction from Emory University.

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