High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire that Debt Built - Hardcover

Van Hasselt, Caroline

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470152966 ISBN 13: 9780470152966

Publisher: Wiley, 2007

Synopsis

There has possibly never been a more daring business figure in Canada’s history than Ted Rogers. Hailed by some as a visionary with an incomparable insight, and equally loathed by others as a ruthless opportunist, Ted Rogers relentlessly conquered his rivals in three industries – radio, cable television and cellular telephony. High Wire Act is an unprecedented, in-depth analysis into how Ted Rogers, driven by the psychological need to restore his family's name, leveraged his stake in a small Toronto FM radio station and propelled it into a media and telecommunications behemoth worth over $23 billion. The many topics covered in the book include details on Rogers’...

• Unmatched ability to foresee the convergence of cable and telephony before anyone else did
• Insatiable appetite for debt and risk taking, and how he bet his company three times to carry out his vision
• Shrewd political and regulatory maneuvers that always kept him one step ahead of his competitors and political adversaries such as Bell and the Aspers
• Opportunistic acquisition of the Toronto Blue Jays

High Wire Act is a fascinating and one-of-a-kind look into one of Canada’s most audacious and visionary business figures of the past fifty years. Every Canadian business reader will be enthralled by this enduring success story of Canada’s only true telecommunications mogul.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Ted Rogers, for decades, has walked a high wire in a constantly evolving industry, and has rarely fallen. Known for being persuasive, tenacious and driven, his success has lined the coffers of his company--and his shareholders' pockets.

Building a telecom empire was perhaps preordained, part of a lost legacy inherited from a father who possessed vision and genius--and died too young. Ted Rogers, also his father's namesake, picked up the torch and wrote his own version of communications history in Canada.

In High Wire Act, Caroline van Hasselt offers a rich and layered story about the man who heads up the Rogers empire. By all accounts genetically wired as an entrepreneur, Rogers grew his small company into the giant it is today to the surprise--and chagrin--of competitors like BCE.

The trajectory of his life mirrors the explosive growth in a rocket-fueled industry that has seen few survivors--and surviving the almost continuous wars surrounding telecom, technology and media convergence has taken its toll on Rogers. Ill health. Near bankruptcy. The vitriol of competitors--and even from within his own ranks. Public outcry over poor customer service and bully tactics.

How much more history will Ted Rogers make? What will be his next conquest? The bets are on that a life's work is not complete for a man driven to compete and win in an unforgiving business for more than fifty years. Admire him or revile him, Ted Rogers sits astride how modern society communicates. It is a fascinating life's work that is about to unfold in these pages.       

About the Author

Caroline Van Hasselt (Toronto, ON) is an awardwinning reporter with an almost 20-year career in journalism. She previously was Boston Bureau Chief for Bloomberg News and a reporter with the Financial Times of Canada. One of her notable achievements includes being the first to break the news of Royal Bank’s ultimately failed merger with Bank of Montreal. In addition to being a journalist, Caroline has also worked as a senior investigator at Canada’s foremost forensic accounting firm.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0470152966
• ISBN 13: 9780470152966
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 520