Brian Roberts | |
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| Born | June 28, 1959 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BS) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | Chairman and CEO, Comcast |
| Spouse | Aileen Kennedy |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Ralph J. Roberts (father) |
Brian L. Roberts (born June 28, 1959) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and CEO of Comcast, an American company providing cable, entertainment, and communications products and services which was founded by his father, Ralph J. Roberts.
Roberts was born into a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Ralph J. Roberts, the founder of Comcast Corporation, and Suzanne (née Fleisher), a former actress and playwright. [1] [2] His maternal grandfather, Alfred W. Fleisher, was a real estate investor and philanthropist who supported prison reform. Roberts graduated from Germantown Academy and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981, and immediately began working for Comcast. [3]
Roberts is chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation. [4] He was named President of Comcast Corporation in 1990 at 31 years of age when the company had $657 million in annual revenue. Comcast Corporation's annual revenue has since grown to $94.5 billion. [5]
Roberts is chairman of the board of directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), and a former treasurer. [6] Roberts served as Chairman of NCTA from 1995 to 1996, when the landmark deregulatory 1996 Telecommunications Act became law.[ citation needed ]
In 2000, Roberts acquired AT&T Broadband for $53.2 billion in stock and assumed debt. The deal allowed Comcast to become the largest cable operator in the world. In 2009, NBCUniversal was also acquired by Comcast. [7]
In 2016, Roberts received US$28.6 million in compensation, [8] and in 2020, his net worth was US$1.7 billion. [9]
Institutional Investor Magazine named Roberts as its top vote-getter for three years in a row (2004–06) in the Cable & Satellite category of their America's Best CEOs annual survey; and named Comcast as one of America's Most Shareholder-Friendly Companies in 2006.[ citation needed ]
Roberts was the recipient of the 1994 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, [10] the 2004 Humanitarian Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and was the 2002 Walter Kaitz Foundation Honoree of the Year for his commitment to diversity in the cable industry. The Police Athletic League of Philadelphia honored Roberts with their 2002 award for his commitment to youth programs and community partnerships. [11]
In 2011, Roberts was awarded the USC Shoah Foundation Institute's 2011 Ambassador for Humanity Award. [12]
The Aileen K. and Brian L. Roberts Foundation was one of the largest contributors to the restoration of the Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, named in the honor of his maternal grandfather. [13]
An All-American squash player, Roberts competed in the Maccabiah Games in Israel, earning a gold medal with the U.S. squash team in the 2005 Maccabiah Games, and silver medals in the 1981 Maccabiah Games, the 1985 Maccabiah Games, the 1997 Maccabiah Games, and the 2009 Maccabiah Games. [11] [14] On October 21, 2012, Roberts was honored by Maccabi USA as a 'Legend of the Maccabiah.' [15]
Roberts was a founding co-chair of Philadelphia 2000, the nonpartisan host committee for the 2000 Republican National Convention. The Pennsylvania Report named Roberts to the 2003 "The Pennsylvania Report Power 75" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics, calling him "Pennsylvania’s most powerful businessman", and noted his influence with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. [16]
In 2003, Roberts was named to the PoliticsPA list of politically influential individuals. [17]
In December 2009, Roberts wrote a letter to President Barack Obama, endorsing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. [18]
Roberts has donated $90,600 to Democratic candidates/PACs, and $70,300 to Republican candidates/PACs. He has not donated to any political party or candidate since 2012. [19]
Roberts and his wife, Aileen Kennedy Roberts, live in Philadelphia and have three children. Aileen is the chair of the Barnes Foundation. [20] [21]
In 2010, Roberts, along with his brother Douglas and his father, presented his mother a Women's Image Network Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. [22] [23]
Roberts owns a 48 ft sloop and a 65 ft sloop, both designed by Sparkman & Stephens and named Aileen after his wife, which he sails while on vacation in his seasonal home on Wildwood, NJ. [24]
Roberts's son Tucker was appointed president of Overwatch League eSports team Philadelphia Fusion in January 2018, [25] after Comcast and its sporting arm Comcast Spectacor paid a reported $20 million in franchise fees to participate in that league. [26]
Comcast Corporation, incorporated and headquartered in Philadelphia, is an American multinational telecommunications and media conglomerate. The corporation is the second-largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue. It is the third-largest pay-TV company, the second-largest cable TV company by subscribers, and the largest home Internet service provider in the United States. In 2023, the company was ranked 51st in the Forbes Global 2000. Comcast is additionally the nation's third-largest home telephone service provider. It provides services to U.S. residential and commercial customers in 40 states and the District of Columbia. As the owner of the international media company NBCUniversal since 2011, Comcast is also a high-volume producer of feature films for theatrical exhibition and television programming, and a theme park operator. It is the world's third-largest telecommunications company by revenue.
Robert Charles Wright is an American lawyer, businessman, lobbyist, and author. He is a former NBC executive, having served as president and CEO from 1986 to 2001, and chairman and CEO from 2001 until he retired in 2007. He has been credited with overseeing the broadcast network's expansion into a media conglomerate and leading the company to record earnings in the 1990s. Prior to NBC, he held several posts at General Electric in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. He served as President and CEO of GE Capital, GE Financial Services 1983 to 1986 and served as GE's vice chairman until he retired from that role in 2008.
Joseph Myron Segel was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of over 20 American companies, most notably QVC, an American television network, and the Franklin Mint, a producer of mail-order collectibles. Segel was named to the Direct Marketing Association's Hall of Fame in 1993. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Electronic Retailing Association and an honorary doctorate from Drexel University.
Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly 7 miles (11 km) from Center City. The community is four station stops from Center City on Septa Regional Rail. It was listed as a census-designated place prior to the 2020 census.
Andrew Lindsay Lewis Jr., generally known as Drew Lewis, was an American businessman and politician from the state of Pennsylvania. He was United States Secretary of Transportation in the first portion of the administration of U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan, and is best known for presiding over the firing of the striking U.S. air traffic controllers in 1981.
NCTA, formerly known as the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), is a trade association representing the broadband and cable television industries in the United States. As of 2011, NCTA represented more than 90% of the U.S. cable market, over 200 cable networks, and various equipment suppliers and service providers to the cable industry.
Harold FitzGerald "Gerry" Lenfest was an American lawyer, media executive, and philanthropist. Lenfest, along with his wife Marguerite, were among the most prominent Philadelphia-based philanthropists in his last two decades, donating more than $1.3 billion to 1,100 groups, supporting various educational, artistic, journalistic, and healthcare causes.
The Suzanne Roberts Theatre is a theatre on Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts. The theater opened in October 2007 and is home to the Philadelphia Theatre Company. The theater was designed by KieranTimberlake, using the principles of Universal design. The theater's signage facade was designed by House Industries in Wilmington, Delaware and produced by Zahner in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ralph Joel Roberts was an American businessman who was the founder of Comcast, serving as its CEO for 46 years and as its chairman emeritus until his death in 2015.
Julian A. Brodsky is an American businessman, the co-founder of Comcast Corporation and served as its chief financial officer and vice chairman. He also served as co-founder and chair of Comcast Interactive Capital, Comcast's venture capital unit now called Comcast Ventures.
Robert Warren Pittman is an American businessman. Pittman was the CEO of MTV Networks and the cofounder and programmer who led the team that created MTV, and is the cofounder of iHeartMedia and Casa Dragones Tequila. Pittman joined iHeartMedia's predecessor company Clear Channel in November 2010 as an investor and the company's Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms, was named CEO in 2011 and chairman in 2013. Pittman led Clear Channel's transformation into iHeartMedia, Inc. in September 2014 to reflect its new multiplatform business and expanded mission. Pittman has also been the former chairman and CEO of Clear Channel Outdoor, CEO of AOL Networks, Six Flags Theme Parks, Quantum Media, Century 21 Real Estate and Time Warner Enterprises, and COO of America Online, Inc. and AOL Time Warner.
John D. Evans is an American business executive and philanthropist, best known for his role as one of the co-founders of the C-SPAN television network.
Johnathan Rodgers is president and CEO of TV One, a real-life and entertainment cable television network targeting adult African American viewers. Launched in January 2004 with major backing from Radio One and Comcast, TV One features a broad range of real-life and entertainment programming designed to enlighten, entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult African American viewers. The network is currently available in nearly 48 million U.S. households, and is available in both standard and high definition formats.
David L. Cohen is an American businessman, attorney, lobbyist, and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Canada. He previously served as the senior advisor to the CEO of Comcast Corporation. Until January 1, 2020, he was senior executive vice president and chief lobbyist for Comcast. He also served as chairman of the board of trustees for the University of Pennsylvania and was chief of staff to former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell.
Yolanda G. Barco was an American lawyer and cable television (CATV) executive who played a key role in development of the cable industry.
George J. Barco was an American lawyer and cable television (CATV) executive who played a key role in development of the cable industry.
Neil Smit is an American businessman and former CEO of Comcast Cable, an American corporation providing cable, entertainment, and communications products and services.
Thomas M. Rutledge is an American communications executive who serves as executive chairman of Charter Communications, having previously served as chairman and CEO before retiring as CEO in December 2022. He previously also served as president of the company from 2012 to 2016.
Jeff Shell is an American media executive who served as the CEO for NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, from 2019 to 2023.
Alfred W. Fleisher was an American real estate investor and philanthropist. He was the co-founder and head of Mastbaum Brothers & Fleisher, and the president of the board of trustees of the Eastern State Penitentiary. He supported prison reform.
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