Home entertainment and communications company UPC has announced the appointment of Dana Strong to the role of Chief Executive Officer of UPC Ireland, which will take effect from May 1st, 2011. Dana is the successor of Robert Dunn, who has been appointed as Managing Director UPC Netherlands.
Dana joins UPC Ireland from AUSTAR (a satellite subscription TV provider to over 760,000 customers in regional Australia), where she held the position of Chief Operating Officer since 2002. Dana joined AUSTAR in 1999 as Managing Director of AUSTAR United Broadband and in 2001 was appointed Group Director, Strategy, Technology and Infrastructure for AUSTAR Communications. UPC Ireland, UPC Netherlands are subsidiaries of international cable operator Liberty Global, while Liberty Global owns a 54% indirect majority interest in AUSTAR (as of September 30, 2010).
Commenting on her appointment, Dana Strong spoke about her excitement at the prospect of starting her new role: “I am very excited about my appointment and I am looking forward to the opportunity to contributing to UPC Ireland’s continued success and growing the company and its operations.”
Diederik Karsten, Managing Director of European Broadband Operations of Liberty Global also commented on Dana’s new position, saying: “I am delighted to welcome Dana Strong to our European management team. Dana brings a wealth of experience gained over the years in her role in AUSTAR and this will be extremely valuable as UPC Ireland looks to extend its lead in the entertainment and communications sector.”