DVCN Honors Clarence Mujahid Ali

The DV Connector Network
Honors
CLARENCE MUJAHID ALI
Founder of the Theater of Universal Images and Co-founder of Connection Communications Corporation
Clarence Mujahid Ali is a successful and accomplished communications, entertainment and media executive. He has worked as a Director, producer, financier and business entrepreneur. His career started in the early 1970's when he and a friend form a recording production company for about $10,000.00 The company grossed over $350,000.00 in its first year of operation. He sold his interest in the company a couple of years later. He then founded the Theater of Universal Images, professional theater Production Company based at the Symphony Hall in Newark, NJ. Within a short period of time, He expanded the operations of the theater to include an educational and media division and increased the annual contributions and revenue to over $1,000,000.00. He has directly overseen the development and management of a number of private and public organizations, institutions and corporations. He also worked early in his career as a general manager of radio station, and a chief operating engineer at radio station WBGO. During his 30 plus years of business ownership and management, he has worked in virtually every area of the communication, media and the entertainment industry including cable TV, theater, music, radio, film and broadcast television.
He has worked in the capacity of producer and/or director on over 200 productions in feature film, television and theater. In 1980, he and partners founded Connection Communications Corporation (CCC) and obtained the Cable TV franchises for the cities of Newark, Jersey City and South Orange, New Jersey. The Newark system was built for $12 Million of debt and equity. The Newark and South Orange properties of CCC were sold to Gilbert Media six years later for approximately $33.5 million. Ali continued to maintain a minority interest in Gilbert Media which was sold to Cablevision in 1989 for over $80 million. At this point, Ali partnered with Cablevision until the late 1990’s as an independent consultant overseeing all local programming and advertising operations. He also leased studio production equipment and trucks to Cablevision. Ali's interest in the Jersey City cable TV system was sold as part of the $2 billion Rogers/Comcast transaction.
As Chairman & CEO of Renaissance Investors Unlimited (RIU) and affiliated companies Renaissance Entertainment and Renco LTD, Mr. Ali built a diversified entertainment, finance, distribution and programming concern specializing in niche markets nationwide and comparable markets internationally. RIU owned cable TV licenses in West Africa and had partnership interest in media projects in the Caribbean and Czech Republic.
His producing credits include: live concerts, feature films, Broadcast and cable TV series, syndicated TV series, sporting events, documentary producer, live location productions and theatrical tours. His work has earned him an IRIS Award from the National Association of Television Programming Executives, a number of CEBA awards and Cable TV ACE Awards among others.
Clarence Mujahid Ali is...
Currently CEO and President of the New Africa Development Corporation (NADC). NADC has envisioned the New Africa District Redevelopment Plan to revitalize an underutilized sector of the City of Newark. New structures will be created, old structures will be repurposed, and these buildings will be the basis for developing new institutions and community resources in this area. The plan includes the development of market rate and affordable housing, retail, and Entertainment. The NADC development team members have over 60 years of real estate development experience and have collectively built over 3000 housing units. As Chairman & CEO of Renaissance Investors Unlimited (RIU) and affiliated companies Renaissance Entertainment and Renco LTD, Mr. Ali has also built a diversified entertainment, finance, distribution, and programming concern specializing in niche markets nationwide and comparable markets internationally.