Dish Network said Friday that chief financial officer Robert Olson will retire, effective Oct. 15, and will be replaced by current senior vice president of programming, Steve Swain. Swain will report to CEO Joseph Clayton.
“Robert is as capable and strategic a CFO as I have ever encountered in my 42 years in business,” Clayton said in a statement. “I congratulate Robert on the excellent service he has given DISH over the past five years and for the capable team he has built.”
Swain joined Dish in 2011 as vice president of corporate financial planning and analysis and was named SVP of programming in late April of this year when Dish announced that EVP of programming Dave Shull would take a six-month leave of absence to care for a family member beginning May 31. Prior to Dish, Swain spent more than 15 years in the telecom sector, most recently at CenturyLink, formerly Qwest Communications. There he served in multiple leadership roles across Finance, including corporate financial planning and analysis, treasury, and investor relations, as well as in Network Engineering. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin and his MBA from the University of Chicago.
“Steve has been a star since the day he arrived,” said Clayton. “He has a command of the entire finance organization and, having had the chance to lead our programming group, he is equipped to offer a sound strategic perspective to our entire business.”
Olson joined Dish in 2009 and previously served as CFO at Trane Commercial Systems from 2006 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer at AT&T's Business Services division from 2004 to 2006 and as Chief Financial Officer of its Commercial Services division for a year prior. In addition, Olson spent more than 20 years in leadership roles in finance, marketing, operations and planning, first with ExxonMobil and later with American Airlines.
