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Martin D. Franks

Martin D. Franks is Executive Vice President, Planning, Policy and Government Affairs for the CBS Corporation. In that post, Franks manages a wide range of activities for the CBS, including oversight of the Corporation's activities in Washington as well as with state and local governments, and CBS's corporate philanthropy. In addition, Franks handles CBS's relations with multi-channel video providers and retransmission consent negotiations, the company's transition to digital television, and CBS Television's Standards and Practices Department.

Franks joined CBS in 1988 as Vice President, Washington, responsible for the activities of CBS before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and other government bodies. He was made Senior Vice President, Washington, in 1994. In 1997, he was named Senior Vice President, CBS Corporation, in charge of its corporate relations functions, including government and investor relations and corporate communications, and served as liaison to the Company's board of directors. In May of 2000, upon the merger of CBS and Viacom, Franks was named Executive Vice President of CBS Television and Senior Vice President of Viacom.

From 1972 through 1987, Franks held a number of posts in Washington, serving on the staffs of President Jimmy Carter, Senator Patrick J. Leahy, and Congressman Tony Coelho.

Franks serves on the boards of the Advertising Council and Maximum Service Television (MSTV) where he also serves as Vice Chair of the Board. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Board of the September 11th Fund.

Franks was born and raised in Long Beach, Ind., and is a graduate of Princeton University. He divides his time between offices in New York and Washington.