Mike Fries is President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Global (LGI). A 20-year veteran of the cable and media industry, he has spent nearly his entire career building international distribution and programming businesses. Today LGI is the second largest cable TV operator in the world and the largest outside the U.S. with over 26 million video, voice, and broadband Internet subscribers, operations in 14 countries and $11.3 billion of annualized revenue.1
LGI 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 and launched LGI’s current business in Australia as well as several other markets. 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. He is an active industry partner at the World Economic Forum and a member of Young Presidents Organization. He also sits on the board of a number of professional and philanthropic organizations including CableLabs, the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, the Alliance for Choice in Education and Graland Country Day School.
Mr. Fries holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. He lives in Denver with his wife and two young daughters and is an avid skier, golfer, surfer, and triathlete.
1 Revenue is presented as annualized revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2009.
About Liberty Global
Liberty Global is the leading international cable operator offering advanced video, voice and broadband internet services to connect its customers to the world of entertainment, communications and information. As of September 30, 2009, Liberty Global operated state-of-the-art networks that served approximately 17 million customers across 14 countries principally located in Europe, Japan, Chile, and Australia. Liberty Global’s operations also include significant programming businesses such as Chellomedia in Europe.
