Executive Producer & Vice Chairman, PMC (Penske Media Corp) 

PMC owns or has controlling interest in leading entertainment, fashion, art and media brands that include Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, WWD, Deadline, Sportico, She Media, The Robb Report, Art in America, Art Forum, South by Southwest, Dick Clark Productions and Vox Media. Byrne’s decades of accomplishments as a media executive, entrepreneur and community leader are highlighted by a long run as publisher of Variety where he dramatically transformed that business into a powerful, diversified, global media brand. The start-up publisher of both Electronic Media and Crain’s New York Business, Byrne also successfully created The Quill Awards for NBC before he led a division of Nielsen that included The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Adweek and Backstage. 

​

A staunch believer in “participation”, Mr. Byrne is on the boards of numerous not-for-profits including Fisher House (Executive Committee), The Intrepid Museum, The USO, The National Medal of Honor Center for Leadership, City Meals on Wheels, The Gotham Film & Media Institute, The Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation, The Bob Woodruff Foundation, The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research, Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza, The Creative Coalition, The Hamptons International Film Festival (Chairman, Advisory Board), The John A. Reisenbach Foundation (Chairman Emeritus) and The Armory Foundation (Board Emeritus). He is also on the Advisory Board of the Fordham University Gabelli School and the Board of NYC’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In November 2012, Mr. Byrne also launched, as Founder/Chairman, the first ever Veterans Week NYC, a series of events dedicated to honoring and supporting veterans and their families. And in May 2017, as Founder/Chairman, Mr. Byrne launched Veterans on Campus NYC, a veteran’s support consortium comprised of all the NYC colleges and universities where veterans attend on the GI Bill. Byrne also serves as an Advisor to Academy Securities, a veterans owned investment bank. Byrne is also a member of Brand Velocity Partners’ “Accelerators”. 

​

In 2002, Mr. Byrne was awarded the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center’s Distinguished Service Award and the NYPD Marine Corps Association “Semper Fi” Award. In June 2009, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented Byrne the “Made In NY” Award for his support of Gotham’s entertainment industry. In November 2017, General Robert Neller, Commandant of the Marine Corps, presented Mr. Byrne the Department of the Navy’s Meritorious Public Service Award. In November 2022, Byrne was inducted into the Fordham University Military Hall of Fame and in n January 2025, the Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, awarded Byrne the Navy’s highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Award. In May 2025, Byrne also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In May 2025, in LA, at the first Military & Veterans Entertainment Awards, Byrne received the Veteran in Media Leadership Award. Recently Byrne was awarded the Veterans Leadership Award from the Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America and was inducted into the 2025 Class of Fordham Prep’s Hall of Honor. At the 2025 NYC USMC Birthday Gala on Intrepid, he was presented ‘The Marine for Life” Award. And recently, at the 2026 Fordham University graduation, Byrne was presented an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. 

 

Mr. Byrne is a member of The British Academy of Film & Television Arts and The New York Athletic Club. 

​

A 1966 graduate of Fordham College, Mr. Byrne served as a Marine Officer in Vietnam in 1968/69 and was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V. Mr. Byrne is also an Irish citizen.