Burger king Cowin no stranger to media

19 Jul 2012, 5:09 pm   -   Source: AAP

Fairfax's newest board member - and close Gina Rinehart confidant - Jack Cowin, knows the media well, even if he is best known for burgers.

"Hungry" Jack Cowin may be known for his burger business but he's no stranger to the media industry.

When Fairfax chairman Roger Corbett announced the millionaire businessman and Gina Rinehart pal was joining the media company's board on Thursday, he welcomed him as "an experienced media investor and director".

Since 1998, Mr Cowin has sat on the Ten Network board, where in 2010 he was joined not only by Mrs Rinehart but by News Corporation director Lachlan Murdoch.

Canadian-born Mr Cowin built his fortune in fast food - starting with KFC franchises and then the Australian rights to run the Burger King chain, which he eponymously christened Hungry Jack's because the local rights to the Burger King name were taken.

His private company, Competitive Foods Australia, now operates 300 Hungry Jack's outlets, 49 KFC outlets in WA and owns a quarter of Domino's Pizza.

The Sydney-based businessman is Australia's 63rd-richest person, worth $610 million according to the 2012 BRW Rich List.

His foray into media came in 1992 when, as part of a consortium, he invested in the struggling Ten Network.

Earlier this year Mr Cowin mediated between Mrs Rinehart and Mr Corbett as they argued the still-unsettled issue of her seeking a board position while shunning Fairfax's charter of editorial independence.

Mr Cowin told the Australian Financial Review he had been "the Henry Kissinger of shuttle diplomacy" between the two but declared himself a failure because the talks were unsuccessful.

Fairfax journalist Adele Ferguson, author of a recently released unauthorised biography of Mrs Rinehart, said the connection between Mr Cowin and Mrs Rinehart began with her father, the late Lang Hancock.

"Jack Cowin came to Australia from Canada in 1969, went to Western Australia and he became really good friends with Lang Hancock," Ms Ferguson said.

"That's how he got to know Gina - a lot of Lang's friends became Gina's friends."

The friendship has grown closer since Mrs Rinehart joined the Ten Network and encountered Mr Cowin at monthly board meetings.

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