The Cayman Islands community is mourning the loss of Rodney ‘Rod’ Alan Hansen, the visionary media executive who transformed the country’s television and cable landscape.
Hansen passed away on 16 Oct., at the age of 79, leaving behind a legacy of innovation, community service and media leadership.
A media life built in Cayman
Born in July 1946 in Union Grove, Wisconsin, Hansen was the youngest of four boys and the son of a roofer who grew up in a family of modest means. A former marine, who served in Japan, his first marriage was to Georgetta Hansen, to whom he was married for 28 years.
Hansen brought a wealth of broadcast and cable expertise to Cayman, where he quickly became known for his sharp business sense and generous spirit.
Farried ‘Freddy’ Sulliman, former managing director of Scotiabank Cayman Islands and banker to WestStar, recalled meeting Hansen more than 20 years ago: “He welcomed me warmly and I was immediately impressed by his expertise in the cable, telephone and television industry, as well as his wisdom, kindness and love for Cayman.”
That love for the islands was evident to all who knew him.
“Cayman was for him,” said his daughter Vanessa Hansen Allott. “It was where he made his home. It was the most special place for him. And, in a way, it was the place that he saw he could have the most impact. And I think about the jobs that he created and the way that he made the telecoms and media landscape better here in the Cayman Islands.”
Though his career spanned cable network development in the United States, France and Bermuda, it was in Cayman that his ambitions truly took root.
In the early 1990s, Hansen relocated from California to the Cayman Islands, setting in motion a new chapter that would redefine local broadcasting when he acquired and merged three local broadcast licensees, including CITN and CTS. These acquisitions led to the creation of WestStar TV Ltd. and Television Centre, which together laid the foundation for Cayman’s only cable television network and its free-to-air channels, including CITN/Cayman 27.
Former business partner Colin Wilson recalls first hearing from Hansen in a surprise 2am phone call offering to invest in the fledgling television station he and his wife, Joan, were struggling to keep afloat. Their project, which later joined forces with Bobby Bodden’s franchise, was running out of funds when Hansen stepped in with the expertise and financing that brought CITN – later known as Cayman 27 – to life.
“Rod was a seasoned operator who understood the business and had a particularly good eye for talent,” recalled Bodden, noting that with such a pioneering venture, “there was no roadmap”
“Rod will be remembered as a pioneer for television services in Cayman – both broadcast and cable,” he added.
“He was our saviour,” Wilson continued. “Without Rod, Cayman 27 would not have been.”
Under his leadership, Cayman would evolve from analog beginnings to a fully digital cable service offering more than 100 channels. Hansen also championed the transition into fibre-to-the-home infrastructure, a move that he considered among his proudest achievements.
In announcing the 2012 sale of WestStar, he reflected, “I am proud of what we have been able to build over the last 19 years, particularly the start of our fibre-to-the-home deployment, which will have a lasting positive impact on the community.”
Hansen’s tenure was not without its challenges. In 2010, amid rising operating costs and pressures on consumers, he pledged “no more hikes” to cable TV rates for that year and even committed to a reduction in rates on four premier packages, citing the difficult economic environment.
“We are committed to the growth, development and success of this community,” Hansen said at the time.
In 2012, he stepped back from active management as WestStar transitioned to new ownership under BOTCAT Holdings, with Bob Taylor taking over as CEO. The company assured that the change would not affect staff or operations – a reflection of the steady foundation he had built.
“He always wanted to leave places and people better than he found them,” Hansen Allott said. “He could be a bit of a bulldozer at times, but he got things done.”
A life of community, philanthropy and influence
While media was his vocation, community service was his calling. Hansen’s contributions reached far beyond broadcasting, earning him the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour in 2011 for his public service and impact on communications.
He established the Rod Hansen–WestStar Scholarship, offering Caymanian students US$10,000 annually to study communications or journalism, paired with paid television experience.
He supported numerous local causes, including the Young Caymanian Leadership Awards, the YMCA Cayman and national fundraising efforts, and played a key role in the country’s recovery after Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
“Rod was someone who took extra special care of his staff,” recalled MP Heather Bodden. “When Hurricane Ivan hit us, he made every effort to charter a flight and bring in the equipment and necessities we needed at that time. Rod was someone that we all looked up to.”
Following the storm, Hansen and his team produced ’36 Hours’, a documentary and telethon that raised more than US$2 million for the Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund.
Hansen Allott remembered his quiet generosity, such as paying a friend’s school tuition, saying, “He was generous in everything that he did and generous with his time. He quietly gave to people and helped.”
Colleagues described Hansen’s hands-on leadership, focus on local storytelling, and lifelong commitment to giving Caymanians both a voice and opportunity.
‘End of an era’
Reflecting on his impact, longtime colleague and television personality April Cummings, who worked with Hansen from the early 1990s through the 2000s, called his passing “the end of an era”.
“He brought the world to Cayman, built the infrastructure for cable television and made Weststar and Cayman 27 household names,” said Cummings. “Few people realise that long after the legal requirement was gone for the company to support local television and local programming, Rod continued to support it, fund it and advocate for it.”
Cummings and many others within the local media industry said that Hansen deeply influenced the course of their media careers.
“I wouldn’t have the career I do today if not for Rod’s early belief in me when I joined Cayman 27 back in 2007,” said Tammi Sulliman, head of news and content at Compass Media. “He saw something in this then 20-something-year-old and gave me the chance to grow as part of the news team.”
Local television personality and journalist Donna Bush remembers him for his ability to see his staff as individuals.
“Rod was one of only two people who always called me by my first and middle name, ‘Donna Mae’. It always made me smile because it reminded me that he saw me, not just as an employee, but as someone he truly cared about,” she recalled.
Hansen was also remembered for his work ethic and influence that he had on those on his team.
“He set the bar high and held everyone accountable to the task,” recalled Ashleigh Lund, who was an executive producer at Westar before she became a principal at IDG Interior Design. “He challenged us to be our best and never gave up. His team became his family, and his leadership inspired us all to aim higher.”
The legacy he leaves behind
Hansen leaves behind his wife of 25 years, Jacqueline Jewell Hansen, children Vanessa Hansen Allott, Ericka Hansen Bryant and Brent Hansen, grandchildren Lila and Lachlan Allott and brothers Lowell and Norman Hansen, as well as a broad community of former colleagues, mentees and friends whose lives he profoundly touched.
“He was tough, incredibly driven and incredibly loving and caring,” said Hansen Allott. “He would move mountains to make sure the people he cared about were okay.”
As news of his passing spreads, tributes from across Cayman’s media and civic sectors are expected to commemorate not only his professional achievements, but also his personal generosity, mentorship and unwavering faith in the power of a local media voice.
“He was a visionary and leader that not just grow value for his shareholders but grew relationships because of the man he was,” said Woody Foster, whose family has known the Hansens for more than 30 years and whose father and brother both served on the WestStar TV board from its inception. “He always greeted you like you were the most important person in the world to him.”
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Hot Rod was a good man. Will be missed by many. Sad news.