Austar United

John Porter Chief Executive Officer

Philip Knox Chief Financial Officer

Dana Strong Chief Operating Officer

Nikki Warburton Group Director, Product, Sales & Marketing

Deanne Weir Group Director, Corporate Development

Anthony Barmakellis Director of Sales

Phil Blackwell General Manager, Technology & Operations

Ben Brooks General Manager, Finance

Fiona Cottrell Director, Employee & Organisation Development

Tim Curry Group Financial Controller

Rebecca Heap General Manager, Strategy and Programming

Page Henty Corporate Counsel

Liz Katsiotis General Manager, Marketing - Aquisitions

Robert Landeros Director, Field Operations

Brian Matulin General Manager, Information Systems

Tony Mitchell General Manager, Product & Services

Jo Mullaley General Manager, Product & Customer Management

Lesley Portwain General Manager, Customer & Credit services

Dean Walters Chief Information Officer/ Director, Operations

 
John Porter
Chief Executive Officer

John C Porter has been the Chief Executive Officer of AUSTAR, which has provided subscription television services to over 700,000 customers in regional and rural Australia, including Hobart and Darwin, since 1995. Mr Porter also serves on the Board of Directors for AUSTAR. 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 in 1995, and by doing so also played an integral role in the development of Australia’s subscription television industry. He was responsible for the design and deployment of the company’s multi-channel/multi-point distribution system/satellite/cable television network. In April 2005 Mr Porter won his industry’s highest accolade when he was voted by his peers to receive the award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Subscription Television by the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association. Prior to joining AUSTAR, Mr Porter spent 10 years in various senior management capacities for Time Warner Cable, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc. Mr Porter has more than 20 years of management experience in the US and Australian subscription television industries. Mr Porter serves as a director on the Board of the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association, and was the Chairman in 2003. Mr Porter is married, with four children.

 
Philip Knox
Chief Financial Officer

Philip was appointed Chief Financial Officer in December 2001. Prior to joining AUSTAR, Philip was Director of Finance for SAP Australia / New Zealand and the Traveland Group. Before that, he held senior finance and accounting roles in the advertising industry and was Chief Accountant at Network Ten. Philip has brought more than 20 years of experience in accounting, finance and management to AUSTAR with invaluable skills in the area of capital restructuring and guiding companies through major changes and profitability initiatives. Philip is a CPA with a Bachelor of Business degree UTS, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries, and a graduate of the Wharton Advanced Management Program, Pennsylvania University.

 
Dana Strong
Chief Operating Officer

Dana was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2002 with responsibility for AUSTAR’s nationwide operations. During her time as COO Dana has had responsibilities spanning sales, customer service, field operations, installation contractors, warehousing, credit & collections, information technology, and engineering. Dana joined AUSTAR in September 1999 as the Managing Director of AUSTAR United Broadband, a fully owned subsidiary of AUSTAR United Communications. In 2001 Dana was appointed Group Director, Strategy, Technology and Infrastructure for AUSTAR United Communications.
Before joining AUSTAR, Dana was a Principal at Mercer Management Consulting a leading strategic management consultancy in North America and Europe. Prior to Mercer Management Consulting, Dana was at Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds degrees from the Wharton School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania in Economics and History respectively.


 
Nikki Warburton
Group Director, Product, Sales & Marketing

Nikki joined AUSTAR in April 2001 as General Manager, Marketing, and was appointed Director, Marketing later that year.Nikki has brought to AUSTAR a wealth of marketing experience, having worked previously within both the advertising and marketing industries.Prior to joining AUSTAR, Nikki was with DDB Advertising in the Management Team for two and half years and, prior to that, for 5 years she was Head of Marketing for Astre Automotive Group who were the Australian distributors for Hyundai, Chrysler Jeep & Audi. Nikki has a Bachelor of Economics degree majoring in Accounting and Marketing.

 
Deanne Weir
Group Director, Corporate Development

Deanne joined AUSTAR in January 2002, and has responsibility for Corporate and Product Strategy, Programming, Corporate Affairs, Growth Initiatives, and Legal Affairs, including as General Counsel and Company Secretary. Prior to joining AUSTAR, Deanne worked with Telstra Corporation Limited for nine years in a variety of legal roles, including that of Regulatory and Competition Counsel, and spent two years in New Zealand with TelstraSaturn, where she was Director of Corporate Development. Deanne was appointed to the Board of Screen Australia in 2008 and is a member of the Boards of the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA), Showtime and XYZnetworks Pty Ltd, the producer of key subscription television channels such as the Lifestyle channel, arena, and Channel [V]. Deanne holds Honours degrees in Arts and Law from Monash University, as well as a Master of Laws from the University of London.

 
Anthony Barmakellis
Director of Sales

Anthony joined AUSTAR in September 2002 as National Sales Manager, responsible for driving sales in the residential market. In this capacity, he was instrumental in diversifying the sales channel mix through the deployment of a direct sales force and the streamlining of sales operations, with a core focus on growing STV acquisition. In July 2006, Anthony was appointed Director of Sales, leading both the residential and commercial sales teams with responsibility for sales growth, strategy and operations. Prior to joining AUSTAR Anthony was the Sales Manager for residential and small business markets for Energy Australia's retail arm, and he previously held roles with Optus Communications and AMP. Anthony brings more than 20 years experience across the Subscription Television, Telecommunications and Finanical Services industries and holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, majoring in Management and Marketing.

 
Phil Blackwelll
General Manager, Technology & Operations

Phil joined AUSTAR in December 2000 and was appointed General Manager Technology and Operations in 2006. Phil’s responsibilities encompass the delivery of Technology, Billing and Telecommunications services across the company, together with operational accountabilities for Subscription/Interactive TV, Internet and Voice products and services to regional Australia. Phil has over 20 years’ experience in data communications and construction & operation of large scale technology infrastructures, including the commissioning and management of government regulated, high volume secure transactional environments and highly available Defence installations. Phil holds an Advanced Diploma in Engineering and a Bachelor of Information Technology degree.

 
Ben Brooks
General Manager, Finance

Ben has been part of the AUSTAR team for seven years, and was appointed General Manager Finance in September 2007. Ben has brought to AUSTAR valuable commercial experience and a diverse background in the media and communications industry. Prior to joining the team, Ben worked as Finance Analyst for StoryFirst Communications Ltd, working in London and Moscow. Before that, he worked as Global Custody Analyst for Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, following his stint at Macquarie Investment Management Ltd as Adviser Services Consultant. Ben has an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management, and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Queensland.

 
Fiona Cottrell
Director, Employee & Organisation Development

Fiona has been with AUSTAR since January 1996.Fiona has over 25 years of experience in the Human Resources area with fourteen plus years at the Senior Management level.Prior to joining AUSTAR, Fiona held a number of roles within Caltex Oil (Australia) Pty Ltd and previous to that worked with Colgate Palmolive. Fiona holds a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Industrial Relations.

 
Tim Curry
Group Financial Controller

Tim joined AUSTAR in January 2006 as Group Financial Controller, responsible for Financial Reporting, Tax and Risk Management. Prior to joining AUSTAR, Tim worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, Sydney and Vancouver for over 10 years in a variety of assurance and advisory roles. Tim is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales and holds a BA in Modern History from Durham University, England.

 
Rebecca Heap
General Manager, Strategy and Programming

Rebecca was appointed General Manager, Strategy & Programming in July 2008, with responsibility for programming development, subscription television resale, corporate and product strategy. She joined the AUSTAR team in May 2005, and has held roles in strategy, corporate finance and business development. Prior to joining AUSTAR, Rebecca worked in the strategy practice of A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm, where she built valuable commercial experience across a range of media, communications, and consumer goods projects and numerous private equity transactions. Rebecca holds a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance and Investment, and a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts both from the University of Sydney.

 
Page Henty
Corporate Counsel

Page joined AUSTAR in July 2006 from the Sydney office of law firm Allens Arthur Robinson. As Corporate Counsel, Page is responsible for managing the legal function of the business including the full range of legal advisory, contract negotiation and compliance issues affecting the AUSTAR group. Page has over 15 years’ experience as a commercial lawyer specialising in the electronic media industry, with particular emphasis on subscription television. She has worked in this area, both in-house and in private practice, in Sydney, Hong Kong and New York. Page has a BA LLB from the University of New South Wales and is admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the Supreme Court of New York.

 
Liz Katsiotis
General Manager, Marketing - Aquisitions

Liz joined AUSTAR in December 2003 and was appointed General Manager Marketing Acquisitions in 2006. She is responsible for the marketing of AUSTAR services to the population of non subscribers to grow sales and build brand equity. Prior to AUSTAR she worked in the car industry where she ran the marketing departments for Daewoo, a multi-award winning brand, and more recently Kia, both of which were the fastest growing car brands in Australia during this time. Liz holds a Master of Commerce and a Bachelor of Business degree.

 
Robert Landeros
Director, Field Operations

Robert joined AUSTAR in 1995 and has served as an Field Operations Director since November 1997. Currently, Robert oversees AUSTAR"s Strategic Alliance for Field Operations and is responsible for providing turnkey solutions for installations, service calls and management of customer premise equipment. Prior to joining AUSTAR, Robert served in various positions for over 15 years in the United States and New Zealand with areas of expertise in multiple technologies including hardwire cable television, wireless cable, digital satellite and UHF distribution. Robert holds a Bachelor of Arts, Communications, Cal State University, Fullerton.

 
Brian Matulin
General Manager, Information Systems

Brian joined AUSTAR in April 2002 and has served as Information Systems Manager and Business Deployment Manager until being appointed General Manager Information Systems in 2006. Brian is responsible for the development and deployment of applications and large business projects. During his 25 years in the IT industry at various multinational organisations, Brian has been held a number of roles spanning development, consulting, sales, product management and project management. Brian holds an MBA from the University of Southern Queensland.

 
Tony Mitchell
General Manager, Product & Services

Tony joined AUSTAR in 1999. As General Manager, Product Strategy & Development he has responsibility for ensuring that AUSTAR delivers an innovative and compelling range of products and services to regional Australians. Prior to AUSTAR, Tony worked at Link Telecommunications in Sydney for 7 years and at Telecom New Zealand for 14 years, and has broad experience covering engineering, technology, operations management, sales and product development disciplines. Tony has an MBA from the AGSM (the combined business school of the Universities of Sydney and NSW).

 
Jo Mullaley
General Manager, Product & Customer Management

Jo joined AUSTAR in 1997, and was appointed General Manager, Marketing - Customer Management in 2006, in life product management was added to her remit in 2009. She has held several marketing roles over her thirteen years with the company, and has been involved in many of the company’s customer projects since then. Prior to joining AUSTAR, Jo travelled extensively around the world, before which she held a role in the marketing department of London's largest cable TV company. She holds a BA in History from Leeds University, England.

 
Lesley Portwain
General Manager, Customer & Credit services

Lesley joined AUSTAR in June 2000 and was appointed General Manager, Customer and Credit Services in August 2006 with strategic and operational accountabilities for the delivery of Customer Service, Customer Retention, Credit and Collections. Before joining AUSTAR Lesley was Call Centre Manager for AAPT/Cellular One leading the Customer Service operation. Lesley has over 10 years experience in the Call Centre and Telecommunications industry gained whilst working in Australia and the UK.

 
Dean Walters
Chief Information Officer/ Director, Operations

As Chief Information & Technology Officer, Dean is responsible for all aspects of the companies Technology Platforms, providing strategic leadership for Broadcast, Information and Telecommunications Technologies and services across the company. He has held key technology and business roles within AUSTAR during his 10 years tenure including responsibility for Customer and Credit Services, deployment of the Interactive TV platform and management of the Data Services Group. Through many re-engineering projects Dean has led the development of a Service Orientated Architecture approach to service delivery from AUSTAR. Currently he is involved in the roll out of High Definition channels and the Next Generation of On-Demand and IP based digital video services. Dean has 30years experience in business transformation, data communications engineering, and the implementation and operation of large scale technology infrastructures and teams.