Frank M. Drendel

Former Chairman
CommScope, Inc.

Mr. Drendel has been continuously involved with CommScope (under a variety of umbrellas and with different titles) since the late 60s (dates differ depending on source). Continental Telephone purchased Superior Cable in 1967 and CommScope became a division under the new company. In 1976 Superior sold the CommScope division to a group of Hickory-area investors led by Mr. Drendel. CommScope then merged with Valtec, Inc., which was later sold to M/A-COM, Inc., and CommScope became a division of M/A-COM. General Instrument then acquired M/A-COM and CommScope in 1986. As a part of General Instrument's plan to split into three companies, CommScope was spun off in 1997.

CommScope is the largest manufacturer and supplier of coaxial cable for cable television applications in the US. It also designs, manufactures and markets coaxial cable and other high-performance electronic and fiber-optic cable products for LAN, satellite, cellular, and other communication applications. Broadband/Video accounts for 78% of sales, Local Area Network (LAN) for 11% of sales, and Wireless/ Other Telecom for 11% of sales According to Paul Maxwell, Mr. Drendel orchestrated the industry's first LBO [leveraged buyout].