Vice Chairman
Rogers Communications Inc.
Mr. Lind has been with Rogers for 39 years, working closely with company founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, E. S. “Ted” Rogers. Over the years, Mr. Lind’s primary focus has been on strategic planning and positioning, in particular on expanding the scope of the company.
Mr. Lind joined Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) in 1969 when the company owned two radio stations and had a mere 15,000 cable subscribers. Today, the company has grown to become Canada’s largest cable operator with 2.50 million subscribers and 3 million cellular customers. It also owns and operates television and radio stations, cable channels, a chain of video rental stores and is the largest magazine publisher in Canada. As RCI has grown over the past quarter century, so have Mr. Lind’s corporate responsibilities.
Mr. Lind initially joined RCI as its Programming Chief. He then served as Secretary of the Board and Senior Vice President, Programming and Planning. He was appointed to his current position of Vice Chairman in April 1991.
Mr. Lind’s accomplishments at RCI have been many. He led the company efforts to successfully acquire Canadian Cablesystems, Premier Cablevision, Western Cablevision, and Multi-Lingual Television. He has supervised scores of licensing applications filed with the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC); as Chairman of Rogers U.S. Cablesystems, Mr. Lind headed the company’s successful expansion into the U.S., and in 1989, he played an integral role in the sale of Rogers’ U.S. assets, which netted nearly one billion dollars in profit. Furthermore, Mr. Lind headed two landmark applications to the CRTC: Unitel’s successful application for competition in long distance telephony, and RCI’s successful application for approval of the Maclean Hunter Limited acquisition, the largest transaction ever heard by the CRTC.
Mr. Lind is active outside the company as well. A former Chairman of the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA). In 1989, he was the recipient of the CCTA’s highest honour. In addition, Mr. Lind has served on the Board of the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) in the United States, the only Canadian to be so elected. In 1993, Mr. Lind was awarded the “Canada 125 Medal” by the Canadian Government for his involvement in community affairs. He was the founding Chairman of the Cable Production Fund and continued on as Chairman when it became the Canada Television and Cable Production Fund, serving a total of three years. In 1996 The Canadian Film and Television Producers Association (CFTPA) presented Mr. Lind with the CFTPA/Kodak Jack Chisholm Award for Lifetime Contribution to the independent production industry. In 1997 Mr. Lind was recognized by the Banff Television Festival for his leadership and outstanding contribution to the Canadian television industry. In 1998 he was named “Mentor of the Year” by Canadian Women in Communications, the first man to receive this award. In 1999 Mr. Lind was inducted to a Cable Pioneer – the first Canadian to be inducted. In 2002, Mr. Lind was appointed to the Order of Canada -- Canada's highest civilian honour for lifetime achievement awarded to citizens who have made significant contribution to Canadian life and culture. Also in 2002, Mr. Lind received a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa from the University of British Columbia, for his substantial contribution to the diversity of our culture and his generous support of liberal arts education through broadcasting and technology.
Mr. Lind has served as Chairman of The Power Plant, Canada’s foremost contemporary art museum, located at the Harbourfront in Toronto. He serves on many other Boards as well including those of: Rogers Communications Inc.; Council for the Business and the Arts, Brookfield Asset Management Inc., The Outdoor Life Network, Art Gallery of Ontario, Friends of Vancouver Art Gallery Board, and the Atlantic Salmon Federation.
An outdoor enthusiast and fly fisherman, Mr. Lind is the founding chairman of The Sierra Club of Ontario, and has served on the Boards of the Canadian Nature Federation, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society where he has been recognized as a “fellow”, and The Centre for The Great Lakes. In his adventures, Mr. Lind has climbed the Chilkoot Trail (the “Trail of '98” in Alaska-Yukon) and challenged the white water of the Zambezi River in Africa. Mr. Lind collects antiquarian books on the subject of the Klondike Gold Rush.
Mr. Lind has two children, Sarah and Jed.
