Charlie Ergen
Charles Ergen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of satellite dish provider Dish Network |
| Spouse | Cantey McAdams |
| Children | five |
| Parent | Viola Ergen William Ergen |
Charles William Ergen better known as Charlie Ergen (born March 1, 1953) is the co-founder and current Chairman of the Board, and former President and CEO of the Dish Network, formerly known as the EchoStar Communications Corporation.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] He stepped down as CEO in May 2011.[3] He remains Chairman of the Board.
Early life and education
Charles Ergen was born into an Episcopalian family[9] in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on March 1, 1953,[7][8] the fourth of five children born to Viola and William Ergen.[10] His mother was one of the first female accountants in the state of Minnesota[9] and his father was an Austrian immigrant who was working in Sweden as a nuclear physicist who left Europe prior to World War II as part of the continental brain drain.[10] His father coined the phrase: the 'China Syndrome'.[10] His parents married in Minnesota in 1944 and then moved to Camden, New Jersey before settling in Oak Ridge where his father accepted a position at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.[9]
Charles received a Bachelor of Arts the University of Tennessee at Knoxville where he was a former walk-on basketball player,[11] and an M.B.A. Wake Forest University.[3][6][7][8][12][13][14] He was a professional blackjack and poker player.[4][11][15]
Career
In 1980, he founded EchoStar with his wife Cantey McAdam ("Candy"), and friend Jim DeFranco.[4][5][16] He started selling satellite dishes door to door in Colorado.[17] Both Cantey Ergen and Jim DeFranco still sit on EchoStar's eight-member board.[4] He purchased Sling Media in 2008.[15]
He supported John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.[7]
Personal life
He is married to Cantey McAdam. They have five children.[13][14] They live in Littleton, Colorado.[8][13][14]
References
- ^ Forbes: The World's Billionaires - Charles Egren March 2013
- ^ Management Team
- ^ a b c The Wall Street Journal profile
- ^ a b c d Otis Bilodeau and Chitra Somayaji, 'EchoStar Accounting Raises Flags in Probe, People Say', in Bloomberg, March 10, 2005 [1]
- ^ a b Forbes biography
- ^ a b BusinessWeek profile
- ^ a b c d NNDB profile
- ^ a b c d BusinessWeek resume
- ^ a b c Oral History of Viola Ergen, Interviewed by Keith McDaniel July 18, 2011 - retrieved December 22, 2012
- ^ a b c Keating, Stephen [2] Cutthroat: High Stakes & Killer Moves on the Electronic Frontier
- ^ a b Dish Network, the Meanest Company in America', on Yahoo Finance 01-07-13 [3]
- ^ Dish Network Board of Directors
- ^ a b c Charles Ergen (profile), Forbes, September 2012
- ^ a b c Forbes profile 2004
- ^ a b Dann Shea, 'Charles Ergen: Meet America's Richest Media Mogul You've Never Heard Of', on The Huffington Post 09-18-08 [4]
- ^ CNN Money: "The Charlie Ergen Show Echostar's founder is one tough operator who will soon take control of the satellite TV industry--if Washington lets him" by Marc Gunther September 2, 2002
- ^ "Can Charlie Ergen still go it alone?". Business Week. 1 November 2004.