Rocco B. Commisso
Encyclopedia
Rocco B. Commisso is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mediacom Communications Corporation
, the 8th largest cable television company in the United States.
, Italy
, Commisso immigrated to the United States at age 12. He attended Columbia University
on a full undergraduate scholarship where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering in 1971. He also earned a master’s degree in Business Administration in 1975 from Columbia Business School
. He was a member of Columbia’s varsity soccer team; elected president of the business school student body; and was the recipient of the prestigious Business School Service Award.
In 2004, on the 250th anniversary of Columbia’s founding, the school’s newspaper, the Columbia Spectator, listed Commisso among Columbia’s 250 greatest undergraduate alumni of all time. The school of business also recognized him as a Select Distinguished Alumni.
Under his guidance, Mediacom has been recognized for outstanding achievements including the nation’s best cable company of 2009 by CableFAX magazine, and named by Deloitte Technology Fast 500 as one of North America's 500 Fastest Growing Technology Companies of 2003.
Mediacom completed an initial public offering in February 2000, trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the MCCC symbol. In November 2010, Commisso announced that he had reached a definitive agreement to take the company private. As a result of the go-private transaction, which officially closed on March 4, 2011, Mediacom is now wholly owned by Commisso.
Commisso serves on the executive committees and board of directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association
(NCTA) and Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs) He is also on the board of directors of the National Italian American Foundation
(NIAF) and C-SPAN
and is a member of the Cable TV Pioneers.
He is the recipient of numerous recognitions including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000, and the Innovator Award for Business Strategy from Cablevision magazine in 2001. He received the 2006 National Italian American Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2007, Commisso was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. He served as Co-Chair of the 2008 Cable Show, the industry’s premier annual event. In 2009, he received the NCTA’s Distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership, the cable industry’s highest honor.
In 2010, he was inducted into SUNY New Paltz School of Business Hall of Fame and named Business Person of the Year. Commisso will be honored in June 2011 with induction into the Cable Center Hall of Fame.
(now J.P. Morgan Chase) and later at Royal Bank of Canada
, where he led the bank’s U.S. lending activities to companies in the media and communications sectors. From 1986 to 1995, he served as executive vice president, chief financial officer and director of Cablevision Industries Corporation. During his tenure there, privately held Cablevision Industries grew from the 25th to the 8th largest cable company in the nation, serving over 1.3 million customers at the time of its merger with Time Warner.
Throughout his college soccer career, Commisso was cited numerous times for his skill and leadership culminating in an invitation to tryout for the USA Soccer Team organized for the 1972 Olympics.
Commisso has been an active contributor to Columbia men’s soccer program for over 40 years. From 1978 to 1986, he was Chairman of Friends of Columbia Soccer. Presently, Columbia awards an Annual Men’s Soccer Prize in his name.
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
, the 8th largest cable television company in the United States.
Early life and education
Born in CalabriaCalabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Commisso immigrated to the United States at age 12. He attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
on a full undergraduate scholarship where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering in 1971. He also earned a master’s degree in Business Administration in 1975 from Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...
. He was a member of Columbia’s varsity soccer team; elected president of the business school student body; and was the recipient of the prestigious Business School Service Award.
In 2004, on the 250th anniversary of Columbia’s founding, the school’s newspaper, the Columbia Spectator, listed Commisso among Columbia’s 250 greatest undergraduate alumni of all time. The school of business also recognized him as a Select Distinguished Alumni.
Mediacom highlights
Commisso is currently the chairman and chief executive officer of Mediacom Communications Corporation, a company he founded in 1995 in the basement of his home to acquire and reinvigorate cable systems in the nation’s underserved smaller communities. Since founding Mediacom, Commisso has engineered its dramatic growth into the nation’s 8th largest cable operator with annual revenues of $1.5 billion. With its corporate offices in Middletown, NY and 4,500 employees in 22 states, Mediacom is a leading provider of advanced broadband products and services such as digital video, high-speed Internet access and phone service to 1.3 million customers in the consumer and commercial markets in 1,500 small cities and towns across America.Under his guidance, Mediacom has been recognized for outstanding achievements including the nation’s best cable company of 2009 by CableFAX magazine, and named by Deloitte Technology Fast 500 as one of North America's 500 Fastest Growing Technology Companies of 2003.
Mediacom completed an initial public offering in February 2000, trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the MCCC symbol. In November 2010, Commisso announced that he had reached a definitive agreement to take the company private. As a result of the go-private transaction, which officially closed on March 4, 2011, Mediacom is now wholly owned by Commisso.
Commisso serves on the executive committees and board of directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association
National Cable & Telecommunications Association
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable TV industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation’s cable households and more than 200 cable program networks, as well as equipment suppliers and providers...
(NCTA) and Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs) He is also on the board of directors of the National Italian American Foundation
National Italian American Foundation
The National Italian American Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational foundation that promotes Italian American culture and heritage...
(NIAF) and C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
and is a member of the Cable TV Pioneers.
He is the recipient of numerous recognitions including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000, and the Innovator Award for Business Strategy from Cablevision magazine in 2001. He received the 2006 National Italian American Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2007, Commisso was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. He served as Co-Chair of the 2008 Cable Show, the industry’s premier annual event. In 2009, he received the NCTA’s Distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership, the cable industry’s highest honor.
In 2010, he was inducted into SUNY New Paltz School of Business Hall of Fame and named Business Person of the Year. Commisso will be honored in June 2011 with induction into the Cable Center Hall of Fame.
Early Career
Commisso began his business career at Pfizer Inc.’s manufacturing facility in Brooklyn, NY in 1971. After graduating from business school in 1975, he spent a decade in the financial community, initially at The Chase Manhattan BankChase Manhattan Bank
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
(now J.P. Morgan Chase) and later at Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
, where he led the bank’s U.S. lending activities to companies in the media and communications sectors. From 1986 to 1995, he served as executive vice president, chief financial officer and director of Cablevision Industries Corporation. During his tenure there, privately held Cablevision Industries grew from the 25th to the 8th largest cable company in the nation, serving over 1.3 million customers at the time of its merger with Time Warner.
Soccer
Mr. Commisso played soccer for the Columbia University Lions in the 1967 – 1970 period. He is a three time All-Ivy League Honoree. In 1967, Commisso was a member of a freshman squad that finished with an undefeated record of 8-0. Commisso served as co-captain of the 1970 team that went 9-4-0 and made Columbia’s first ever appearance in the NCAA men’s soccer tournament.Throughout his college soccer career, Commisso was cited numerous times for his skill and leadership culminating in an invitation to tryout for the USA Soccer Team organized for the 1972 Olympics.
Commisso has been an active contributor to Columbia men’s soccer program for over 40 years. From 1978 to 1986, he was Chairman of Friends of Columbia Soccer. Presently, Columbia awards an Annual Men’s Soccer Prize in his name.