The Cable Center said that Frank M. Drendel, chair of the board and founder of CommScope Inc., has been named the 2017 Bresnan Ethics in Business Award recipient. The award honors the late William J. Bresnan, founder and chairman of Bresnan Communications and longtime chairman of the board of The Cable Center. Drendel will be presented the industry accolade at the 20th annual Cable Hall of Fame celebration on April 26 at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C.
“It is a true honor to be named this year’s Bresnan Ethics in Business Award recipient,” Drendel said in a release. “Bill served as the best example of what ethics in business should be, and it is with great appreciation that I am being recognized with this award in his honor.”
“Frank has spent his entire career as a visionary leader and mentor in the cable television industry,” Nick Davatzes, chief executive officer emeritus, A+E Networks, and chairman of the Bresnan Award selection committee, said in the release. “He exemplifies ethics in business, and we are thrilled to present him this year’s Bresnan Ethics in Business Award.”
Drendel served as CommScope’s chief executive officer from his founding of the company in 1976 until its acquisition by The Carlyle Group in January 2011. He has served as chairman since 2011. While at CommScope, Drendel also served as a director of GI Delaware, a subsidiary of General Instrument Corp. and its predecessors from 1987 to 1992, a director of General Instrument Corp. from 1992 until 1997, and a director of NextLevel Systems Inc. (which was renamed General Instrument) from 1997 until January 2000. Before founding of the company, Drendel held various positions within the Comm/Scope division of Superior Continental from 1971 to 1976.
Drendel is a director of the Internet and Television Association (NCTA) and the SCTE Executive Council. He previously served on the board of Sprint Nextel Corporation, Nextel Communications, Inc., Tyco International Ltd., The Cable Center and C-SPAN.
Drendel has previously been inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame; won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development and received various NCTA awards. Other accolades include the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian award given by the State of North Carolina; and the 2013 North Carolina Technology Association Outstanding Achievement Award. He graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.
“Frank served as an invaluable member of our board and served as vice chairman for seven years. We are so pleased to honor him as this year’s Bresnan Ethics in Business Award honoree,” Jana L. Henthorn, president and CEO, The Cable Center, said in the release. “His dedication and steady guidance over the years has been instrumental to The Cable Center and to our entire industry.”
The Bresnan Ethics in Business award was created to honor outstanding men and women in the cable industry who best exemplify Bill Bresnan’s longstanding commitment to ethics in business. Previous recipients can be found at this link.
