Robert Berger, a longtime investment banker at CEA Group who worked in many realms of telecommunications and was a longtime member of the Cable Television Pioneers, died on May 29 at home in New Orleans of natural causes after an illness, CEA founder and CEO J. Patrick Michaels said. Berger was 86 years old.
CEA noted that Berger, who joined the firm in 1993, was the longtime vice president in Denver and was the cornerstone of the investment banking division, expanding CEA’s presence in the region. He then relocated to the Tampa, Florida, area where he served as a senior VP in the investment banking division. He provided corporate advisory services and investment banking and brokerage services including on mergers and acquisitions; private placements and advisory assignments such as valuation and fairness opinions. In 2012, he and his family relocated to New Orleans, where he continued working as a senior adviser.
He appeared on numerous industry panels focused on valuations, financing and cable system sales and was quoted in trade and business publications as a recognized expert in these areas.
Prior to joining CEA, Berger had served seven years as senior VP at Cable Investments Inc., a telecommunications brokerage and investment bank in Denver, CEA said. He also spent 17 years in management at Xerox.
He served on the board of the Independent Cable and Telecommunications Association and the editorial advisory board of Private Cable & Wireless Magazine. He attended the University of Baltimore for post-graduate study after earning his BA with honors at the University of Maryland.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, a daughter and a granddaughter, CEA said.
