Gabelli & Company is an institutional brokerage providing investment partnerships, mutual funds and investment advice on select industries and special situations, with a focus on small and midcap companies.

"We were formed in 1977 as a sell-side research firm, and over the past two years have greatly increased the depth and breadth of our research coverage in the areas of our core competencies, including entertainment and media," according to Douglas R. Jamieson, president and chief operating officer of Gabelli Asset Management.

"We have also increased the number of our investment symposiums and expanded the size of our research team and sales force, creating the need for someone with Barry's depth of experience to head up the research department," Jamieson said.

"I have known Barry for years," said Mario J. Gabelli, chief executive of Gabelli Asset Management. "He is a terrific analyst and an astute manager."

Mr. Lucas, who joined Gabelli in 2003, said, "I am delighted with this opportunity and look forward to help move our investment research capabilities to center stage at a time when traditional bottom-up equity research has taken a back seat at so many brokerage firms."

Mr. Lucas, a lifetime New Yorker, was most recently a managing director at Neuberger Berman Inc., where he covered a broad range of media-related companies. A graduate of the City College of New York with BA and MA degrees in English, Mr. Lucas began his career in the NY City public school system before joining Standard & Poor's in 1980. He was also an analyst Raymond James Financial and First Manhattan.

An avid skier and auto enthusiast, Mr. Lucas and his wife reside in Croton-on-Hudson.

Gabelli Asset Management Inc., through its subsidiaries, manages approximately $28.7 billion in assets of private advisory accounts (GAMCO), mutual funds and closed-end funds (Gabelli Funds, LLC), and partnerships and offshore funds (Alternative Investment Group).

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