Charles Keating’s keen business sense has been developed and perfected over his 40-year entrepreneurial career. He is the founder of Access Communications Inc, one of Nova Scotia’s first cable television providers and is currently the chairman of Altimax Courier Limited and founder and chairman of Lakeview Home Hardware Building Centre.

In the 1960’s Keating built one of Nova Scotia’s first strip malls in the Dartmouth community of Porters Lake, marking his first of many forays into the real estate business. Keating became chairman of Shannondale Realty Limited in 1976 and founder and chairman of Landmark Development Corporation Limited in 1999.

In 1969, he established Access Communications Inc. For three decades Keating immersed himself in the cable business, both as an entrepreneur and as a guiding force in the shaping of the Canadian Cable Television Industry. During that time, he expanded his Dartmouth-based operations and acquired cable businesses throughout the province, becoming the dominant cable provider in Nova Scotia - itself one of the highest cabled provinces in Canada.

In 1999, Keating was instrumental in Access Communications being one of only four companies in Canada to introduce WAVE, a technology that allows for high-speed Internet hook-ups. Later that same year Keating sold his cable company to Shaw Communications.

Keating is also a well-known philanthropist and community leader. He was recognized as the Outstanding Individual Philanthropist in the Atlantic Region Awards for Philanthropy in 1994. In 2002, Keating was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and in 2003, he was made a member of the Order of Canada.

He supports countless Nova Scotia programs and charities. He gives freely of his time, talent, counsel and experience - often anonymously - to the arts, recreation, education, health, literacy and politics. His genuine concern and unwavering devotion to the region has earned him the respect and admiration of his peers in the business community and has improved the lives of many Nova Scotians.

Keating serves as the Director for St. John Ambulance for Nova Scotia and Bras d’Or Aquarium. He is the honourary chairman for Shearwater Air Museum, Dartmouth Literacy Network, and Brain Injury Association of Nova Scotia. He is currently chairman of Advancement Nova Scotia and the Glace Bay Miners Museum Restoration Fund. He has also served in a variety of board and voluntary positions in hospitals throughout metro and is a dedicated supporter of The Capital Health QEII, which he chaired from 1998 to 2001.

Keating’s devotion to his province extends beyond his own generation of business colleagues. Keating is a champion of Nova Scotia’s youth and urges young entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in Nova Scotia. He is also a honourary chairman of the Prince Andrew Woodlawn Environmental Enhancement and Conservation Association at Prince Andrew High School.

Keating earned his diploma in engineering from St. Francis Xavier University in 1958. In 2000, he received an honourary diploma from Nova Scotia Community College’s Akerley Campus and was honoured with a Doctor of Laws from St. Francis Xavier University the same year. The Charles V. Keating Millennium Centre, at St. F.X., is named for his generosity to his alma mater.

Keating has four children and seven grandchildren.

Charles Keating, along with John W. Lindsay and F. Thomas Stanfield, was inducted into the Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame on June 1^st, 2004 at the World Trade and Convention Centre.