Board of Directors
ViaWest enjoys a model relationship with its Board of Directors, centered on healthy communication and mutual respect.
The ViaWest management team relies on the wisdom and experience of its Board members with regards to the company's strategic initiatives, operating plans and acquisition activity. As result, ViaWest continually benefits from their Board's commitment to guide the company in a positive direction.
Roy Dimoff - Chairman
Nancy Phillips
Sengal Selassie
John Sadik-Khan
Todd Klindworth
Mike Fries
Greg Malcolm
Ron Heinz
George Moore
Gene Yoon
Michael Turner - Adviser
Roy Dimoff
ViaWest Co-founder, Chairman and CEO
Providing the overall direction for ViaWest and its strong network of people and solutions is Roy Dimoff. A visionary who launched his first telecommunications company in Toronto, Canada at age 26, Dimoff continues to drive ViaWest's success through strategic positioning, strong financial management, and instinctive merger and acquisition selection.
After establishing and growing his own business, Teleconferencing Systems Canada, Dimoff recognized an opportunity to take the business to new levels. In 1988, he sold his company to Confertech International of Denver, Colorado (now Global Crossing), where he also accepted an executive management position in the services division. In less than five years, Dimoff had established Confertech as the second largest provider of audio and video teleconferencing services in the United States .
In 1995, after a successful tenure with Confertech, Dimoff assumed control of RMI.net — a struggling Internet Service Provider. Using his strong telecommunications and technology background, coupled with his keen business insight, Dimoff quickly established RMI.net as the leading Internet Service Provider in Colorado and effectively completed one of the first Internet IPOs.
With RMI.net in a strong financial state, Dimoff retired from his CEO position in 1997 and began the development of ViaWest. By 1999, Dimoff and the other founders officially launched ViaWest Internet Services, Inc. into the market as a provider of colocation and hosted solutions. While he remains focused on ViaWest's current strategy and future opportunities, Dimoff's entrepreneurial spirit and achievements continue to be recognized by prominent business leaders. Already holding a number of awards including the Denver Business Journal's "Who's Who in Technology, Telcom and Media," Dimoff's latest industry recognition includes becoming a finalist for the 2005 Ernst & Young, "Entrepreneur of the Year Award" and also for the 2005 "Technology Executive of the Year" presented by the Colorado Software and Internet Association (CSIA).
Dimoff is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where he earned his Honors Bachelor of Business Administration Degree.
Nancy Phillips
ViaWest Co-Founder, Director, COO
As co-founder and COO, Nancy Phillips has a vested interest in establishing ViaWest as a leader in the market. Phillips, who has over 15 years of management experience in technology, oversees ViaWest's operations, engineering and technical support divisions.
Previously Vice President of Operations for RMI.net. Phillips was integral in managing the company's network and technical growth. Prior to helping this struggling Internet Service Provider back to profitability, Phillips held another position as Vice President of Operations for ITC Worldwide (now Genesys Conferencing) and was Senior Vice President of Operations for ConferTech International (now Global Crossing).
Phillips has also been a principal, executive and consultant for numerous successful telecommunications companies including France Telecom, MCI and Qwest. Over 15 years ago, she began her career with Teleconferencing Systems Canada as Vice President of Sales and it was in this role that she met Roy Dimoff — the two have been loyal business partners ever since.
In addition to being recognized by ViaWest for her outstanding contributions, Phillips has earned a reputation for excellence throughout the industry. In 2005, the Denver Business Journal named Phillips as "Outstanding Woman in Business" in the high-tech category. She also received the 2004 "Technology Business Woman of the Year" award hosted by the Colorado Software & Internet Association's APEX awards. Phillips was again recognized in 2004 by the Denver Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and the Denver Business Journal, winning the "Outstanding Women in Business Jean Yancey Award." The year 2002 marked the second year in a row in which Phillips was recognized by the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE), as a woman that has raised capital for an entrepreneurial venture.
Phillips holds an Honors Bachelor of Economics from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
In addition to ViaWest, Mr. Selassie currently sits on the Boards of Ricerca Biosciences LLC, POCO Graphite, Inc. as well as MC2 Trade Show Services. Sengal Selassie is a Director of SG Capital Partners LLC, a $500 million private equity investment fund, where his current role is the day-to-day management of the fund. Selassie has worked directly on the portfolio companies, which represents more than $200 million of invested capital. Selassie joined SG Capital from Morgan Stanley, Co. which was Incorporated at the beginning of 1998. At Morgan Stanley, he worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group, focusing on both the media and the telecommunications industry transactions. Prior to his time with Morgan Stanley, Selassie also worked at Goldman Sachs & Co. in the Corporate Finance Group. Selassie holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College and both a M.B.A. and a J.D. from Harvard University.
In addition to his ViaWest Board seat, John Sadik-Khan is a Managing Director in the Media and Telecommunications and Corporate Finance Group at SG Americas Securities, LLC since 2001. As a senior banker in the Corporate Finance group, Mr. Sadik-Khan has helps arrange debt and equity financing for the non-investment grade clients in the media and telecommunications industry. He joined SG Americas Securities from Societe Generale where he started in 1994. Mr. Sadik-Khan held several positions in the financial services industry since 1984, working for Wells Fargo Bank (San Francisco), Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company (New York), and Arthur Andersen & Co. (New York). Mr. Sadik-Khan has his Bachelors degree in Economics from Princeton University, and holds a Masters in Business Administration from the New York University Graduate School of Business, and is a certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
Todd Klindworth, one of ViaWest's first outside investors, is the majority owner and Chairman of TODD Video Network Management. TODD Video Network Management is a leading software company that enables and controls large area video networks as well as serving interactive and seamless broadcast video. Mr. Klindworth has also successfully financed and developed cable television and MMDS networks in 17 different countries. Mr. Klindworth has a B.A. in Finance and a M.B.A. in International Business from Denver University.
Mike Fries has held the titles of President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Global, Inc., since the merger of Liberty Media International and UnitedGlobalCom (UGC) in 2005. Under his leadership, Liberty Global has grew into a US Fortune 500 and a Forbes Global 2000 company. Mr. Fries is also 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. A 20-year veteran of the cable and media industry, Mr. Fries has also served as the President and CEO of UGC, after managing the company's Asia/Pacific operations and successfully heading up global development activities and the company’s expansion into Europe. Mr. Fries holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University . He is active in a number of industry, professional and philanthropic organizations.
Mr. Malcolm is the Executive Vice Chairman for Cowen and Company. Prior to joining SG in 1996, Mr. Malcolm was a Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns. Mr. Malcolm also served as a Managing Partner of Anthem Partners, L.P., an advisory investment banking boutique. Prior to that, Mr. Malcolm was a Managing Director of The First Boston Corporation where he founded and ran the High Yield Finance Group. Mr. Malcolm received a B.A. with honors from Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Mr. Heinz brings ViaWest's board more than two decades of solid experience in technology. As the Managing Director of Canopy Ventures, he oversaw corporate investments and guided the company's successful strategic direction. Mr. Heinz was also the CEO of Helius, Inc., a Canopy portfolio company, prior to assuming his current role. From 2000 to 2003, as CEO of Utah-based Phobos Corporation, Ron successfully lead the company through their acquisition by SonicWALL, of Sunnyvale, California (SNWL), and continued to serve as the Chief Operating Officer and Sr. Vice President. Prior to that, Mr. Heinz spent 12 years with Novell, Inc., serving as a Corporate Officer and Sr. Vice President. Mr. Heinz also served in several roles with Xerox. Mr. Heinz received a Bachelor of Science in finance from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and his MBA in finance from American University. He has also participated in postgraduate work at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
In addition to his seat with ViaWest, Mr. Moore also serves on the Boards of Interconnect Devices, Inc. as well as Klupengers. Mr. Moore is a Partner in the private equity group of Quilvest, a global alternative asset manager with over $10 billion under management, responsible for executing the buyouts, recapitalization and the growth equity investments throughout the United States. Before joining Quilvest in 2006, Moore was a partner of Bristlecone LLC, a partnership focused on making public and private investments in U.S. based growth companies. He also acted as Principal of HCC, a $175 million Dallas-New York based private equity firm focused on media and the communications industries. Previous to HCC, he also held the role of associate with Citicorp Venture Capital. Mr. Moore holds a B.A. in English from Colby College and a M.B.A. from Columbia University.
Gene Yoon is the Co-Head of Private Equity for Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s Americas Special Situations Group, where his focus is on middle market and growth equity investing. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Gene was a Partner at Great Hill Partners, LLC, a private equity firm specializing in media/communications, technology and business services. Gene was formerly Director of Corporate and Business Development at Geocast Network Systems, a technology infrastructure provider backed by Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield and IVP. Prior to Geocast, he was in investment banking at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Gene has received both a BS in Economics and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Turner is an executive and attorney in Detroit, Michigan, with extensive experience in communications, cable television, municipal government and real estate investment. Mr. Turner is a founding investor in Viawest, and a past member of its Board of Directors. Prior to his involvement with Viawest, Mr. Turner was the founder and President of Televista Communications Inc., a franchised cable television operator which served several municipalities in the Detroit metropolitan region. Before establishing Televista, Mr. Turner held several positions with the City of Detroit, including Executive Assistant to the Mayor, and the Executive Director of the Detroit Cable Communications Commission. In those capacities, Mr. Turner was responsible for the award of the first Detroit cable communications franchise. Mr. Turner received his BBA from Western Michigan University and his Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University. He continues to be a major shareholder in Viawest, and is an active Adviser to its Board.
