Shaw, who served as vice chairman since 2008, died following a brief illness, Shaw Communications said.

After joining the company in 1982, Shaw served as its second CEO from 1998 to 2010, before being succeeded by his brother, Bradley Shaw. Their father, JR Shaw, founded the company in 1966. http://reut.rs/2lTSqYN

Edward Rogers, chairman of rival Rogers Communications Inc, commenting on Shaw's death, described him as a confident entrepreneur with a lasting impact on the Canadian cable sector.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru and Alastair Sharp in Toronto; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)