Accolades pour in for JR Shaw
Canadian communications giant dead at 85 (from Cartt.ca)
CALGARY – Shaw Communications founder, executive chair and former CEO JR Shaw is being remembered not only as a pioneering cable and telecom builder, but a family man, philanthropist, and a one-of-a-kind gentleman who inspired deep loyalty and unity.
Known throughout the North American communications industry simply as JR, Shaw was a pioneer in Canadian business and a Canadian telecommunications sector visionary. He passed away in his sleep Tuesday at the age of 85.
“My family and I are at a loss for words and are deeply saddened at JR’s passing,” said Brad Shaw, CEO of Shaw Communications and JR’s youngest son. “JR was the founder and leader of our company, but he was also an exceptional husband, a loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather. His legacy of love and compassion for people will live on for generations.”
Despite being long-retired as CEO (he stepped down in 1998 and his eldest son, the late Jim, took over), JR remained very active in the business over the years as executive chairman of the company.
“I spoke to JR every day about the business,” added Brad Shaw. “He was engaged and interested in everything the company was doing – from the latest technology being rolled out to how we were meeting the needs of families across Western Canada. We know we will miss his smile, his advice and his encouragement, but all of our people know that JR would want us looking out for each other, for our neighbours, and serving our customers to the best of our abilities. Our tribute to him will be to continue to grow the business he loved.”
Former company president Peter Bissonnette, now a Shaw Communications and Shaw Family Trust board member, said he always marveled at JR’s deep knowledge of the business, even as an octogenarian. “He was so engaged… his knowledge of what was going on in the business, in real time, was astounding,” Bissonnette told Cartt.ca on Wednesday, pointing to the company’s 2016 move into wireless with Freedom Mobile and JR’s intimate knowledge of that sector, despite it being a far different business and technology than the Shaw Communications which JR founded and grew as CEO.
This goes hand in glove with something JR himself said a lot “you can’t stand still,” as he did in these two videos done with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, where stands the JR Shaw School of Business. He was always looking for the next thing to grow the company, said Bissonnette.
“There’s not been a more influential person in my life than JR has been for the last 31 years.” – Peter Bissonnette
“JR was an icon in the industry, and he was extraordinarily passionate in delivering connectivity and customer service to millions of Canadians. His vision and insight combined with his warmth of character created a magic touch among everyone who knew and worked with him,” added Paul Pew, lead director of Shaw Communications. “His remarkable legacy will live on through his family’s continued leadership of the company.”
That warmth was something anyone who met JR felt. “I really looked up to him. He was a wonderful, wonderful guy,” said Rogers Communications vice-chair Phil Lind, who – along with his boss Ted Rogers – had similar business trajectories as Shaw, and whose paths crossed often over the years and continued into their retirements. “He was very smart, but warm, friendly, and engaging. Even in his position, he listened and was genuinely interested in everybody’s story. That’s why his employees loved him so much,” added Lind (pictured at right in 2010 during JR’s induction into the Cable Hall of Fame).
Bissonnette added that the first person to visit him in the hospital after his 2008 heart attack, besides his own wife, was JR. “There’s not been a more influential person in my life than JR has been for the last 31 years,” he said.
Shaw was known by many for his relationship building ability as his company grew. While Rogers Communications often grew via large, sometimes contentious, rather public cable acquisitions, “JR’s we’re always non-appearing items with the CRTC,” laughed Lind. “In business he had great instincts, but it was his skill with people that made him so successful.”
For a time, Shaw was a voracious purchaser of small cable companies as it built its cable business and many of those deals were done one-on-one by JR, remembers Bissonnette. “It was all about the way he liked to build relationships. One at a time, with a handshake – and you knew he was a cattleman because he had this fervent, strong, handshake.”
“JR was in a position to scupper that deal but he didn’t because he knew if he did, it would have torn the industry apart at the seams in Canada and he wasn’t prepared to do that.” – Phil Lind
“And he was a unity guy,” said Lind. When Rogers acquired Maclean-Hunter Cable in 1994, “JR was in a position to scupper that deal but he didn’t because he knew if he did, it would have torn the industry apart at the seams in Canada and he wasn’t prepared to do that.” That proved prescient because Shaw later benefited from assets the CRTC forced Rogers to sell – and that deal helped set the table for the famous Shaw-Rogers cable systems swap in 2000 which let the two companies consolidate their wired footprints in the west and east.
In 1966, JR moved from Ontario to Edmonton, initially to help establish his family’s pipe-coating business, but he wanted to do something on his own and founded Capital Cable Television, a start-up cable provider, to offer people more choice and greater access to TV content. In 1971, after winning a CRTC licence for part of Edmonton, the company connected its first cable customer in Sherwood Park and over the decades, and under the leadership of JR, Shaw rapidly expanded through acquisitions and organic growth opportunities.
“I wanted more choice and I thought the people of Edmonton wanted more choice,” said JR of his decision to launch cable TV.
The company later built a substantial radio and television broadcasting group that was eventually spun out as a separate public company.
The company bought 100% of YTV in 1996, after owning it in partnership, but in 1998, the CRTC told the industry it wanted to put a lid on deals which saw content and distribution companies come together. Then, Shaw also owned CMT, Treehouse, DMX Music, and minority stakes in Comedy Network, Telelatino and Teletoon. “The CRTC said you can still own what (TV channels) you’ve got, but you can’t grow them,” while also being a distributor said Shaw in 2013 after being inducted into the Ontario Association of Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame.
So, in 1999, Shaw spun off its content business into a separate company and Corus Entertainment was born.
While that was going on, Shaw was early in on the high speed internet bandwagon in the west, delivering broadband to many for the first time and later launched home phone. In 2016, the company bought Wind Mobile, renaming it Freedom. “Both Brad and JR recognized we need to be a wireless company,” said Bissonnette.
Accolades for JR came in a flurry from other industry leaders, too this week.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of JR Shaw and would like to extend our sincere condolences to his wife Carol, Brad, Heather, Julie, the extended Shaw family and the team at Shaw Communications,” said Rogers Communications chair Edward Rogers in a statement. “JR was a true pioneer and an incredible entrepreneur… Shaw led the Canadian cable industry for many decades as an innovator and long-term investor. He believed passionately in Canada. He created many thousands of jobs and brought his customers the best versions of the latest cable and telecommunications services.”
“He was admired across our industry for his achievements and his gracious and thoughtful nature,” added Rogers president and CEO Joe Natale, calling him an “exemplary Canadian business leader” whose “legacy as a true pioneer will remain.”
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of JR. He was a true pioneer, an extraordinary leader and a formidable competitor.” – Darren Entwistle and Brian Canfield
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of JR. He was a true pioneer, an extraordinary leader and a formidable competitor,” added Telus in a statement from CEO Darren Entwistle and chair emeritus Brian Canfield. “Importantly, his passion for creating a better world was reflected in the numerous meaningful philanthropic endeavours he championed. There is no doubt that JR created an inspiring legacy that will endure in our industry, our communities, the province of Alberta and well beyond. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Shaw family during this exceptionally difficult time.”
“JR Shaw was an inspirational entrepreneur whose vision and determination made Shaw Communications into a competitive force in Canada telecommunications,” added Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Brad Shaw, his family, and everyone at Shaw Communications on their loss.”
“JR Shaw was the kind of person who could spark passion in others and move them to action,” said Louis Audet, executive chairman of Cogeco Inc., and a man who worked on various industry issues with JR Shaw and the Shaw family for many years. “Over the years he inspired his family, and eventually a workforce to rally around a business and social mission, and they have pursued these relentlessly for the better good of Canada. In so doing, he created an enduring legacy and a lasting dynasty. On behalf of all of us at Cogeco, our thoughts are with the members of his family and past colleagues, employees and all those who were touched by this exceptional individual.”
“The Canadian telecommunications industry lost one of its true pioneers with the passing of JR Shaw,” said BMO Capital Markets financial analyst Tim Casey in a note to investors Wednesday. “It is hard to overstate his impact on the industry.”
JR was also a passionate supporter of Canadian art and artists, and numerous local and national charitable causes. He has been recognized with numerous awards and honours, including being named Officer of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Alberta Order of Excellence, honorary degrees from University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa and being named a proud member of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame and the Cable Hall of Fame (here is his Cable Hall of Fame video. He was inducted in 2010). JR was also instrumental in the creation of the Shaw Charity Classic, Calgary’s legendary stop on the PGA TOUR Champions that has raised more than $48 million for Alberta charities since 2013, says the company release.
In accordance with the company’s succession plan, the intention of JR and the Shaw family, and with the support of the board, Brad Shaw will assume the role of executive chair on an interim basis in addition to his role as CEO. The company’s intention is to confirm this appointment at the upcoming April 9, 2020 board meeting, said the company announcement.
“The board of directors and all employees of Shaw Communications express their deepest condolences and sympathy to the Shaw family for their loss,” added the company’s statement.
This goes for Cartt.ca as well. “I’ve met JR a number of times over my years covering this business and he was always a true gentleman when I have chatted with, or interviewed him,” said Greg O’Brien, editor and publisher of Cartt.ca. “This is a man who built a multi-billion dollar broadband, telecom and wireless business which employs thousands from nothing, starting with one cable TV customer in Edmonton. The industry has lost a legend.”