Columbia Business School today announced the addition of Michael Fries ’88, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international TV and broadband company, to the Board of Overseers.
A longtime supporter of the School, Fries recently made a generous gift to create the Fries Professorship of Media and Technology, the School’s first endowed professorship in media. An active alumnus, Fries regularly speaks on campus and hosts School events in Colorado, where he lives.
As CEO of Liberty Global, Fries heads a company that provides broadband, entertainment, voice, and mobile services to more than 25 million customers in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean; employs more than 45,000 people; and has revenues of $20 billion. He was a founding member of the management team that launched the company’s international expansion more than 25 years ago, and has since served in various strategic and operating capacities. He has served as CEO since 2005.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Mike, who is an innovative leader in global media and technology, to the Board of Overseers,” said Glenn Hubbard, dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics. “With the media landscape evolving at almost breathtaking speed, our community will benefit immensely from Mike’s enormous breadth and depth of knowledge of this complex industry.”
Fries is a Telecommunications Industries Governor and steering committee member of the World Economic Forum, as well as a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. He serves as a trustee or board member of several organizations, including CableLabs, the Cable Center, Grupo Televisa, Lionsgate, Alliance for Choice in Education, and Teach for America. He also chairs the board for the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and the Biennial of the Americas. Recognitions for his achievements include EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Media, Entertainment and Communications; Industry Leader of the Year by Digital TV Europe; and induction into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.
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