Ed London ’49, a member of the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ (VPA) Advisory Council and retired managing partner of Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman in New York City, will speak on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 6:45 p.m. in the Lender Auditorium, located on the concourse level of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. The talk is part of the Bandier Program’s Soyars Leadership Lecture Series in VPA’s Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music. It is open to the University community.
London, who is a 2008 recipient of Syracuse University’s George Arents Award, recently retired as New York managing partner of Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman, which specializes in financial services to clients in music, motion pictures, television, literature and other creative and performing arts. Some of the firm’s clients have included James Taylor, Billy Joel, Diane von Furstenberg, Christie Brinkley and Diane Keaton.
At SU, London dual-majored in journalism and management. Prior to joining Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman, he worked in the radio, advertising and public relations fields and then entered the photographic supply retail business in New York City. Eventually he owned seven stores in New York and a graphic arts supply distribution business in Connecticut. He is a past president of Photo Marketing Association International and Photographic Research Organization Inc., for which he also served as chairman.
Following the sale of his stores in the late 1970s, London joined Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman. In recent years, he helped facilitate the establishment of the Billy Joel Scholarships for the advancement of music education at various universities, including the Setnor School of Music.
In addition to the VPA Advisory Council, London has served on the SU Alumni Board of Directors. He and his wife, Elaine ’50, have chaired the SU Annual Fund Campaign of Greater New York and served as area interviewers for student recruiting. In 2003, London was named Outstanding SU Alumnus of Year. He currently is a member of the board of overseers of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the board of directors of the ASCAP Foundation.
For more information about the lecture, contact David Rezak, director of the Bandier Program, at (315) 443-3280 or dmrezak@syr.edu.
