Rocco Commisso is one of the most successful Italian immigrant entrepreneurs in our nation’s history. His illustrious career in the cable television industry spans over 36 years. He is the Chairman, CEO and sole owner of Mediacom Communications Corporation, a company he founded in 1995 to acquire and reinvigorate cable systems in the nation’s underserved smaller communities. Today, Mediacom is the 8th largest cable television company in the U.S., with operations in 22 states, 4,600 employees and annual revenues of $1.7 billion.

Rocco currently serves on the board of directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, C-SPAN and Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. He previously served on the board of directors of the National Italian American Foundation from 2005 to 2012. He is the recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the National Italian American Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been inucted into The Cable Center, Broadcasting & Cable, and SUNY New Paltz School of Business Halls of Fame. In 2009, he was presented with the Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership, the cable industry’s highest honor, and Mediacom was named the nation’s top operator by CableFAX Magazine.

Born in Calabria, Italy, Rocco immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 12. After graduating from Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx, he attended Columbia University on a full undergraduate scholarship where he earned both a BS degree in Industrial Engineering and a MBA degree from the Graduate Business School. At the Business School, he was elected president of the student body and was the recipient of the prestigious Business School Service Award.

Rocco played soccer for the Columbia Lions from 1967–1970. He was a member of a freshman squad that finished with an undefeated record and served as Co-Captain of the 1970 team that made Columbia’s first ever appearance in the NCAA Playoffs. For his exploits on the field, Rocco became a three-time All-Ivy League Honoree and was invited to try-out for the U.S. Soccer Team organized for the 1972 Olympics.

In 2004, on the 250th anniversary of Columbia’s founding, the school’s newspaper, the Daily Spectator, listed Rocco among the institution’s 250 greatest undergraduate alumni of all time. In 2013, Columbia recognized his more than 45 years of contributions to the university by naming its soccer venue as the Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium. In 2015, in recognition of his lifetime achievements and for his work in advancing America’s ethnic heritage, Rocco was bestowed with the 2015 Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Rocco has poured significant personal and corporate resources into funding educational opportunities for young people. Through Mediacom’s World Class Scholars Program, September 11th Memorial Scholarship Fund and Entrepreneur of Tomorrow Award, he has provided college scholarships to more than 1,200 students nationwide. In 2014, he established the Rocco B. Commisso American Dream Fund at Mount Saint Michael to ensure that the school can continue to recruit and educate deserving young men for generations to come. In 2015, he was inducted into the Mount Saint Michael Academy “Legends of the Mount.”