ENGLEWOOD, Colo., April 20, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascent Capital Group, Inc. ("Ascent" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:ASCMA) announced today that Richard G. Walker is joining the company as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development.
Mr. Walker brings nearly 30 years of experience in corporate development, strategic planning, accounting, finance and investor relations to Ascent. Prior to this, Mr. Walker served in a variety of executive roles at IHS, Inc., the leading global source of critical information, insight, and analytics, including as Executive Vice President of Global Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. During his tenure with IHS, he oversaw the development of a strategic framework to evaluate and prioritize key investment decisions, including the deployment of nearly $4 billion in capital across more than 60 acquisitions. Prior to IHS, Mr. Walker served in executive roles with Autobytel Inc. and MediaOne. He began his career at Arthur Andersen & Co. as a certified public accountant.
"We are thrilled to have Rich joining the team and know that he will be a valuable resource to the company," said Bill Fitzgerald, Ascent Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Rich's wealth of experience in strategy development, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic partnerships will be a tremendous asset to our business as we look to expand and differentiate our position in the emerging home automation and security monitoring industry."
Mr. Walker commented, "I am excited to be joining Ascent and its leadership team. Ascent is a company with tremendous opportunity in the evolving home automation and security monitoring industry and I look forward to working to identify new opportunities for strategic growth and investment to drive shareholder value creation."
Mr. Walker currently serves as Chairman of the Board at privately-held Reader's Digest Association, where he has been very active with the CEO and the Executive Leadership team in their efforts to enhance overall business performance. Mr. Walker graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from the University of Colorado and holds an Executive MBA from the University of Denver.
About Ascent Capital Group, Inc.
Ascent Capital Group, Inc., (Nasdaq:ASCMA) is a holding company that owns 100 percent of its operating subsidiary, Monitronics International Inc., and through Monitronics, LiveWatch Security, LLC. Ascent also retains ownership of certain commercial real estate assets. Monitronics, headquartered in Dallas, TX, is the nation's second largest home security alarm monitoring company, providing security alarm monitoring services to more than one million residential and commercial customers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico through its network of nationwide, independent Authorized Dealers. LiveWatch Security, LLC ®, is a Do-It-Yourself ("DIY") home security firm, offering professionally monitored security services through a direct-to-consumer sales channel. For more information on Ascent, see http://ascentcapitalgroupinc.com/.