- CEO CORNER
- FACT SHEET
- MANAGEMENT BIOS
- BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- CAREERS
- COMPANY CULTURE
- CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
- PROGRAMS
- PARTNERS
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
As a Co-founder, Roy launched ViaWest in 1999. His active leadership, experience, and management ability has guided ViaWest throughout the company’s decade-long journey. With Roy at the helm, the company survived the ‘Dot-bomb’ crash which decimated similar companies, and ViaWest emerged as an industry leader, experiencing continual growth and success.
Roy is a serial entrepreneur who launched his first telecommunications company in Toronto at the age of 26, Dimoff has driven his success through strategic positioning, strong financial administration, and an instinctive ability to select and manage successful mergers and acquisitions.
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," and a finalist for CSIA's "Technology Executive of the Year". Dimoff's latest industry recognition came by winning the 2009 Ernst & Young, "Entrepreneur of the Year Award" for the Rocky Mountain Region.
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.
Nancy serves as a board member for CSIA(Colorado's Technology Organization), and also serves on the board of the National Center for Women & Information Technology(NCWIT).
Phillips holds an Honors Bachelor of Economics from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Sengal Selassie is a co-founder and Managing Director of Cowen Capital Partners, LLC and has been Group Head since inception. Prior to Cowen Capital, Mr. Selassie spent eight years with SG Capital Partners where he was a Managing Director; he ran SG Capital Partners from 2002 through 2006. Before SG Capital Partners, Mr. Selassie worked at Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group. He began his career in the Investment Banking division Goldman Sachs & Co. Mr. Selassie earned his an MBA and JD from Harvard University and has an AB in Economics from Harvard College. In addition to ViaWest, Mr. Selassie currently sits on the Board of Directors of POCO Graphite Inc., Ricerca Holdings, Inc. and MC².
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 BA in Finance and a MBA 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 a MBA from Columbia University and a BA from Wesleyan University . He is active in a number of industry, professional and philanthropic organizations.
Mr. Malcolm is the President and Chief Executive Officer for Cowen and Company. Prior to joining the firm 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 BA with honors from Wesleyan University and a MBA 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.
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, Moore was a partner of Bristlecone LLC, a partnership focused on making public and private investments in U.S. based growth companies. Prior to that, Mr. Moore was a Principal of HCC, a Dallas-New York based private equity firm focused on media and the communications industries. Mr. Moore began his career at Citicorp Venture Capital. Mr. Moore holds a BA from Colby College and a MBA 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 a 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.
