After 44 years And 10 months Charles Ansley Retires

Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief

One of the longest serving (we mean ‘old’) and one of the very nicest people (we mean that most sincerely) in the industry announced his retirement Friday.

charlesansley_Charles Ansley, who managed the most profitable digital signage business for just over 11 years and then steered it towards an acquisition (and what was, no doubt, a successful ‘exit’ for its VC owners) will step down from RMG Networks (NASDAQ: RMGN) (OTCBB: SCGQU) (OTCBB: SCGQW) as President, RMG Enterprise Solutions, effective July 12th, 2013.

Charles of course, well known to many, served as Chief Executive Officer of Symon Communications from 2002 until its acquisition by RMG Networks earlier this year.

RMG plans to align the role and structure of the office of President, Enterprise Solutions to best meet the needs of its growth initiatives.

Garry McGuire, Chief Executive Officer, RMG Networks told us “Charles’s distinguished career spans senior leadership roles at IBM, AT&T, EDS and most recently as CEO of Symon Communications. Charles was instrumental in orchestrating the combination of Symon and RMG, and we are thankful for his leadership during the post-merger integration period.”

Charles said publicly “I am proud of our team’s accomplishments over the past 11 years that have made RMG Enterprise Solutions the digital signage partner to nearly 70% of the Fortune 500. I am sincerely grateful for the support I’ve received from the RMG management team, our great customers and our exceptional employees around the globe. RMG is well positioned and on a clear path to a bright future as the leader in intelligent digital signage. My heart is with the company and I will always be a fan and shareholder of RMG.”

Privately Charles told us “After 44 years and 10 months, I am finally hanging up my spurs! Symon and now RMG have been a great ride over the past few years … I tried to learn everything I could from many great leaders like Tony Wakin, Nolan Strong, Frank Tomson, Lew Gray, Rick Roscitt, Jeff Heller, Doug Frederick, and others. To them and all of you, thanks for sharing your knowledge and the great memories you have given me over the years.”


4 Responses to “After 44 years And 10 months Charles Ansley Retires”

  1. Chris Riegel Says:

    Charles is one of the ‘good guys’ in this industry, and will be missed, but a well earned vacation and time to enjoy life beyond work.

    Best wishes.

  2. Ken Goldberg Says:

    I agree with Chris. It is hard to imagine scripting a better exit. After providing an impressive case study on focus and business model, Charles steered Symon and its stakeholders into a new growth vehicle. He deserves much respect and congratulations!

  3. Guillaume de La Tour Says:

    Charles is one of the top 10, exceptional personality in the world on DOOH and one of the kindest people I have met in this business.
    We will miss you, Charles.

  4. Rich Ventura Says:

    I fully agree with Chris and Ken. You can’t imagine a much better exit from the industry. Charles have a great time off.

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