08/01/2003
The Associated Press names Tommy J. Harris to be its chief financial officer

NEW YORK – The Associated Press has appointed Tommy J. Harris, a finance, operations and business development executive with broad experience in media and financial services, to be chief financial officer of the world's oldest and largest news cooperative.

Tom Curley, AP president and CEO, announced the appointment July 21, effective immediately. Harris replaces Patrick T. O'Brien, who retired in June.

Harris has more than three decades of experience in cable television, pay TV and publishing, advertising, broadcasting, manufacturing, financial services, utilities and nonprofit industries. Most recently, he has been involved in business as an entrepreneur.

From 1992 to 2001, he was chief financial officer of Time Warner Cable, an $8 billion company with 40 operating divisions and more than 30,000 employees, based in Stamford, Conn. He served as Time Warner Cable vice president of finance from 1989 to 1992.

Harris was controller and vice president of Time Inc. from 1987 to 1989. From 1983 to 1987, he was controller and vice president for American Television and Communication, a predecessor to Time Warner Cable based in Denver. He also worked at Price Waterhouse & Co. in New York City.

Harris graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., and holds a master's in business administration, with a major in finance, from Long Island University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and serves on the board of trustees of St. Vincent's College in Bridgeport, Conn.

Harris and his wife, Jennifer, live in Weston, Conn., with their two daughters.

Contact: Jack Stokes
212-621-1720