Don’t expect Peter Viner to stray too far from the Asper family fold now that he’s ended nearly 30 years working at CanWest Global Communications.

The departed CanWest Global exec has stepped down as president and CEO of CanWest MediaWorks, easing himself into semi-retirement as advisor to the media group he joined in 1974 as VP of sales and marketing at then-fledgling Global Television. His leaving was announced in mid-July.

As the quiet confidant of the Asper family, Viner long aimed to protect the company from any downside of the bold risks undertaken by Izzy Asper, the more flamboyant CanWest Global founder, and more recently by his son Leonard Asper.

Viner’s loyalty to the Aspers saw him become president and CEO of CanWest Global for two years until 1999, when Leonard Asper grabbed the wheel.

On the day he took the helm at CanWest Global, Leonard Asper underlined in a company statement just how key Viner’s counsel had been. ‘I’m grateful Peter Viner will be nearby as I adjust to my new role,’ he was quoted as saying.

Earlier, Izzy Asper had entrusted Viner with turning Vancouver’s tired CKVU-TV, of which the company had gained 100% ownership in 1988, into U.TV, subsequently recording increased audience and profits. It was the market leader among 18- to 49-year-olds by 1996, became part of the Global Television Network the following year, and was sold off to CHUM in 2001.

Viner was also charged with the responsibility of righting the ship at CanWest’s Network Ten Australia between 1992 and 1997.

‘When you buy a company that’s 14,000 kilometers away, you’d better be sure you send someone you trust to run it,’ Izzy Asper told the Financial Post in 1994 after sending Viner Down Under as his proxy.

After making way for Leonard as CanWest Global president and CEO in 1999, Viner became vice-chairman. The company acquired the WIC Western International TV assets in 2000, and Viner relocated to Toronto to help integrate them, enabling the elder Asper to fulfill a two-decade dream of forming Canada’s third national network.

There were more deals to come, including buying the Hollinger Inc. newspaper titles in 2000 as part of an unfolding convergence strategy. In that spend-crazy year, the media giant also picked up 50% of the National Post from Conrad Black, with the second half to follow in 2001.

Viner switched gears to the print world, taking over as National Post publisher with hopes of making the money-losing venture profitable within one year, a goal that has yet to be achieved. Part of the convergence strategy was to extend the print world to TV, and Viner spearheaded the launch of the half-hour MoneyWise business program, which leveraged the expertise of the Financial Post (the cornerstone of the National Post) onto the small screen.

In 2003, amid its financial troubles, the National Post fired its editors, axed the publisher’s position, and Leonard brought older brother David on as chairman. Viner next oversaw CanWest’s goal of launching more radio stations in Canada.

Two years later, after Global had lost significant audience share to CTV, Viner replaced Rick Camilleri as president and CEO of CanWest MediaWorks, CanWest Global’s reconfigured Canadian operations.

But for a stint as president of rival Telemedia from 1984 to 1990, Viner spent all his business career at CanWest Global, and is now leaving the executive suite just as it partners with Goldman Sachs & Co. to acquire Alliance Atlantis Communications for $2.3 billion (pending regulatory approval), sells radio and TV assets in Ireland and New Zealand, and is raising its stake in Australia’s Ten Network.

Viner declined a request for an interview, so there’s no word on his lucrative good-bye package, his consulting deal, or future plans.

But given his knowledge of Canadian broadcasting, there’s every likelihood fellow executives elsewhere will be calling on his experience for wise counsel.