Andrew Alexander

Andrew Alexander is the chief executive officer/owner of The Second City Inc. Alexander spent most of his childhood in Brampton, Ontario after emigrating from London, England. He spent a year at Tri-State College in Indiana and completed his formal education at Ryerson Polytechnic in Toronto, Ontario.

His introduction to show business came in 1971 when he was head of marketing for the John Lennon Peace Festival in Toronto. In 1971, he co-produced the off Broadway hit Love Me Love My Children with the Toronto based Global Village Theater. In 1973, he became the owner/­­producer of The Second City in Toronto. His first television project was the multiple Emmy award winning comedy series SCTV. Recently the series became available on DVD with Conan O'Brien praising it as "the most highly crafted and consistently surprising comedy show ever made."

Alexander has developed and produced television programming for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX Television, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, A&E, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

In 1985, Mr. Alexander was offered the opportunity to purchase The Second City Chicago by its founder and owner, Bernard Sahlins.  Alexander and his business partner Leonard Stuart became the sole owners. Since then, Alexander has led and expanded The Second City. Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Chicago now claim Second City theaters. Donnie's Skybox  (Chicago) and the Tim Syms Theater (Toronto) are experimental theaters showcasing works by emerging artists.

The Second City has a highly active Film and Television division in both Canada and the US.  The corporate division works with Fortune 1000 companies on developing and improving business communications.

Alexander is proud to serve on the Honorary boards of Gilda's Club Chicago and Toronto.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of The League of Chicago Theaters.  He lives in Chicago with his wife Diane and son Tyler, who attends the Francis W. Parker School.