Donald R. Shassian Named Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer, CBS Outdoor

NEW YORK, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Donald R. Shassian has been named Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer for CBS Outdoor, the Company announced today. In this senior role, Shassian will oversee all financial operations for CBS Outdoor as it prepares for its separation from CBS Corporation and its conversion into a real estate investment trust.

Shassian was most recently Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer for Frontier Communications, a $5 billion company that provides voice, data and video services. In his new position at CBS Outdoor, Shassian will report to Jeremy Male, Chief Executive Officer of the division. He starts today.

"Don is a terrific executive with a wide range of experience in media and finance, and a keen understanding of the IPO process," said Jeremy Male, Chief Executive Officer, CBS Outdoor. "He has held senior-level positions throughout much of his career and has a very successful track record in achieving financial goals, building internal management teams and working with boards of directors and Wall Street. That insight and experience will benefit us greatly as we set out to achieve our strategic goals for CBS Outdoor."

"Bringing Don into the fold is another significant step toward achieving the strategic initiatives we have put in place at CBS Outdoor," said Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation. "Don is a veteran executive who brings more than 30 years of experience in finance and media, and knowing he will play a key role in the execution of our strategic plans for Outdoor adds to our confidence that we'll achieve our goal of ensuring maximum value for our shareholders. I'm pleased to have him on our team."

Shassian will be supported by the current Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of CBS Outdoor, Ray Nowak, who will remain in the organization and now focus exclusively on finance and accounting for U.S.-based businesses as its U.S. CFO. In addition to the U.S., CBS Outdoor also has operations in Canada, Mexico and four countries in South America. The Company recently divested its European and Asian operations.

Shassian most recently spent seven years with Frontier Communications where, as its top financial executive, he was responsible for the successful negotiation, finance, closing and integration of an $8.6 billion acquisition from Verizon. Before that, he served as an M&A consultant for communications companies pursuing the acquisition and divestiture of local exchange businesses. Previously he served as Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Operating Officer of RSL Communications, Ltd., a $1.6 billion internal voice and date communications provider. He has also held senior-level positions with Southern New England Telecommunications Company (SNET) and Arthur Andersen.

A married father with two grown sons, Shassian graduated from Bucknell University with a BSBA degree, majoring in accounting.

About CBS Outdoor
CBS Outdoor is one of the largest out-of-home media companies in the Americas and has a major presence throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America. With both traditional outdoor (billboard and transit) advertising properties and a network of digital displays and mobile offerings, CBS Outdoor gives advertisers both breadth and depth of coverage across vast geographies, as well as immersive ways to connect with advertisers. For more information, visit www.cbsoutdoor.com.

About CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world's largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand – "the Eye" – one of the most recognized in business. The Company's operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, radio, local TV, film, outdoor advertising, and interactive and socially responsible media. CBS's businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network, TVGN (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Lionsgate), Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations, CBS Radio, CBS Outdoor, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group (CBS Studios International and CBS Television Distribution), CBS Interactive, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Films and CBS EcoMedia. For more information, go to www.cbscorporation.com.

SOURCE CBS Outdoor