GMT industry council

GMT Communications Partners (GMT) has formed the GMT Industry Council, a select network of key industry media professionals who will provide an insightful market perspective for GMT on its current and prospective portfolio companies. In addition the council members will also be able to assist GMT with introductions related to specific acquisition targets. The council members include: chairman Robin Gill, Philip Graf, Bruno Claude, Robert Crozier, Walter Bosch and Francis McInerney.

Gill is a long standing player in the communications industry having founded Border Television, one of the first UK independent television broadcasting companies, in 1960. He has also been managing director of Associated Television and is a former chairman of Independent Television News.

Graf was chairman and CEO of Trinity Mirror until 2003. He was with the newspaper group for some 18 years and was instrumental in building the group into Europe’s biggest publisher (by circulation) with some 260 titles. He has also twice been director of the Press Association.

Claude is CEO of Cablecom (Switzerland) for which he led the 2003 buyout from NTL. Prior to this he was COO of NTL Europe responsible for NTL’s activities on continental Europe. Previously he held various positions with Prime Cable, a US-based cable television operator over a seven-year period.

Crozier has spent over 31 years in magazine, newspaper and related media businesses. He is currently publisher of the international edition of Forbes Magazine, which covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia. Robert is a former president of Time Magazine International and a former president of New York-based Circle.com, an end-to-end Internet web development agency which he helped found.

Bosch spent nearly 20 years in journalism and publishing in Switzerland and was president of publication at Ringier, Switzerland’s largest publishing company. He then founded the advertising agency Bosch & Butz, which became one of the top agencies in Switzerland before being sold to IPG in 1989. He is now on the board of several companies both media-related, such as STAR TV Switzerland and Euphonix Inc in Palo Alto, California, as well as other companies such as Swiss International Airlines.

McInerney is MD of North River Ventures LLC, a New York-based consultancy that advises CEOs in the information industry. He is one of the general partner team for both Centennial Strategic Partners Funds VI and VII, specialist US-based media funds.

The GMT Industry Council will

meet at least twice a year but there

will be opportunities for other

informal gatherings both collectively and individually.