AUSTAR's Board

Michael T. Fries Chairman

Timothy D. Downing Deputy Chairman

John C Porter Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

Roger M. Amos Director

John W. Dick Director

Bernard G. Dvorak Director

Balan Nair Director


 
Michael T. Fries
Chairman

Mr. Fries has been a non-executive Director since 16 June 1999 and was appointed non-executive Chairman in March 2006. He is a member of the Remuneration Committee and was previously Executive Chairman and member of the Audit and Risk Committee of AUSTAR. Mr. Fries is President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Global, Inc. (“Liberty Global”). Currently, Liberty Global is the second largest pay TV operator in the world and the largest outside the U.S. with over 27 million video, voice, and broadband Internet subscribers, and operations in 14 countries. Liberty Global was created through the combination of Liberty Media International and UnitedGlobalCom in June 2005. Prior to the formation of LGI and his appointment as CEO, Mr. Fries served as president and chief executive officer of UnitedGlobalCom (UGC), one of the first companies to expand into international cable TV and programming. He joined UGC shortly after its formation in 1990 and spent five years as senior vice president, business development during which he spearheaded its early expansion into Europe, Asia and Latin America. In 1995, he became president of the Asia/Pacific region where he oversaw the formation and management of Austar Entertainment Pty Limited. He was promoted to president and chief operating officer of UGC in 1998 and chief executive officer in 2004.Mr. Fries is a member of Liberty Global's board of directors and its two-person executive committee along with the company’s chairman, Dr. John C. Malone. Mr. Fries holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University.Mr. Fries held no other Australian listed company directorships during the past three financial years.


 
Timothy D. Downing
Deputy Chairman

Appointed to the Board on 23 June 1999, Mr. Downing is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee. Mr. Downing is also a director of a number of private companies. Since 1984 Mr. Downing has worked in the finance industry, principally in investment banking and private equity. Since 1989 he has been principal in a number of companies that manage private equity funds investing in both general industries and the media and communications sector. Mr. Downing is a founder and director of the private equity firm Fulcrum Capital Partners Limited.

 
John C. Porter
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

Mr. Porter has been Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Austar United Communications Limited since 23 June 1999. Mr. Porter was Managing Director of Austar Entertainment Pty Limited from July 1997 to December 1999. From January 1997 to August 1999, he also served as the Chief Operating Officer of United Asia Pacific, Inc. (“UAP”). Mr. Porter led the establishment of Austar Entertainment Pty Limited in 1995, and by doing so played an integral role in the development of Australia’s subscription television industry. Prior to joining AUSTAR, Mr. Porter spent ten years in various senior management capacities for Time Warner Cable, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc. Mr. Porter has more than 25 years of management experience in the US and Australian subscription television industries.
Mr. Porter serves as the president on the Board of the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association, and a director of Multi Channel Network, a position he has held since March 2000. Mr. Porter was also a director of TVN Corporation Limited (formerly TVSN Limited), from October 2000 to November 2006.

 
Roger M. Amos
Director

Mr. Amos was appointed as non-executive independent Director of AUSTAR on 29 May 2008. He is Chairman of the Audit & Risk Committee and member of the Remuneration Committee. Mr Amos is the non-executive Chairman of Tyrian Diagnostics Limited, non-executive director of REA Group Limited and non-executive director of Photon Group Limited, which are publicly listed Australian companies. He is an independent member of the Audit Committee of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, Chairman of the Opera Foundation Australia and Governor of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation. Mr Amos’ prior roles include Deputy Chairman of the Film Finance Corporation Australia Limited.
Mr Amos retired in 2006 after 25 years as a Partner in KPMG. He held various senior roles in the information, communications and entertainment industries including Chairman of the Global Communications Industry Group. Mr. Amos is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

 
John W. Dick
Director

Mr. Dick has been a non-executive Director of AUSTAR since 22 April 2002 and was appointed to the Audit and Risk Committee in March 2006. He has also been a director and a member of the Audit Committee of Liberty Global since June 2005. Mr. Dick served as a director of UGC from March 2003 to June 2005. Mr. Dick served as a Director and Chairman of Terracom Broadband, a Rwandan fibre optic company, and a director and Chairman of Rwandatel, the national telecommunications company in Rwanda, until the sale of each of those companies in 2007. Mr. Dick was a founding shareholder of O3b Networks and currently serves as Chairman, Director and Member of the Audit Committee and Executive Compensation Committee for that Company. O3b is building and launching a series of satellites bringing fibre quality communications to the emerging markets of the world. In the past, he has served as a Director and Executive Officer of various companies involved in industry, shipping and real estate in a number of areas around the world.
Mr. Dick holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Wheaton College, Illinois and an LL.B from the University of Toronto Law School. Mr. Dick held no other Australian listed company directorships during the past three financial years.

 
Bernard Dvorak
Director

Mr Dvorak was appointed to the Board on 23 September 2011 as a non-executive Director of AUSTAR. Mr Dvorak is Senior Vice President and Co-Chief Financial Officer (Principal Accounting Officer) of Liberty Global, Inc., a position he has held since the combination of Liberty Media International, Inc. (LMI) and UnitedGlobalCom, Inc. in June 2005. Mr. Dvorak is an executive officer of Liberty Global and sits on the company’s Executive Management Committee. Mr. Dvorak served as a Senior Vice President and Controller of LMI from March 2004 until June 2005. From June 2002 until March 2004, Mr. Dvorak was Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of On Command Corporation, a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation. From the early 1980’s through 2002, Mr. Dvorak was in the public accounting profession and the cable television industry, holding various senior- and executive-management roles. Mr. Dvorak holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Ferris State University.

 
Balan Nair
Director

Mr Nair was appointed to the Board on 24 February 2009 as a non-executive Director of AUSTAR. Mr Nair is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Liberty Global, Inc. Mr. Nair is an executive officer of Liberty Global and sits on the company’s Executive Management Committee. Prior to joining Liberty Global in July of 2007, Mr. Nair served as AOL LLC's chief technology strategist overseeing the company's network operations and back-office systems. Prior to his role at AOL, Mr. Nair spent 12 years at Qwest Communications International Inc, most recently as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Mr. Nair sits on the board of Adtran Corporation, a NASDAQ 100 index company.Mr. Nair holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering, both from Iowa State University. Mr Nair held no other Australian listed company directorships during the past three financial years.