IMAX Corporation is a Canadian theatre company which designs and manufactures IMAX cameras and projection systems as well as performing film development, production, post-production and distribution to IMAX-affiliated theatres worldwide. Founded in Montreal in 1967, it has headquarters in the Toronto area, and operations in New York City and Los Angeles. As of December 2019, there were 1,624 IMAX theatres located in 81 countries, of which 1,529 were in commercial multiplexes. These include IMAX variations such as IMAX 3D, IMAX Dome, and Digital IMAX. The CEO is Richard Gelfond. History IMAX is a Canadian corporation that is based in Mississauga, Ontario. The company was founded in 1967 when three filmmakers—Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr—incorporated IMAX Corporation. The idea and the new technology, which resulted in the birth of the company, came from the multi-screen productions of Roman Kroitor, Colin Low and Hugh O'Connor. In the Labyrinth and Ferguson's Man and the Polar Regions (on which Robert Kerr collaborated), both screened at the Expo 67. From their experience, Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr realized that new technology would be necessary to develop a larger and more complex project than previously seen. As a result, they sought an engineer named William Shaw in 1968 (he had gone to Galt Collegiate Institute in Galt, Ontario, now Cambridge, with Ferguson and Kerr) to help develop this technology. Shaw created this new projector that allowed for films to have exceptionable quality and to be ten times larger than conventional 35mm picture frames. The first movie IMAX Corporation produced using this new technology was Tiger Child, which was featured at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. It was because of the multi-screen viewing that Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr wanted to create a theatre with giant screens, surround sound and stadium seating. William Shaw was instrumental in helping IMAX Corporation fulfill its ambitions in creating larger and more realistic experiences for audience which included oversized screens, surround sound and steep seating for better viewing. Shaw remained at IMAX (although officially retired) as a designer and inventor until his passing on August 31, 2002, at the age of 73. Before retiring, Shaw created a 3D camera which was sent to the International Space Station for IMAX films. In 1994, investment bankers Gelfond and Bradley Wechsler acquired IMAX Corporation through a leveraged buyout and publicly listed the company on the NASDAQ stock exchange.