the diversity issue

Transcription

the diversity issue

cablefaxmag.com
The diversity Issue
REGIONAL POWER:
The Top Regional Minorities p. 30
WORKING WONDERS:
Cable’s Best Places To Work p. 38
Cable’s MOST
INFLUENTIAL MINORITIES
Our Annual Listing of Top Minority Execs p. 6
Editor’s Note 4 > 2010 Most Influential Minorities in Cable 6 > More Influential Minorities 24 > Marketing Excellence 34 > Best Places to Work 38
September 2010
page 38
IN THIS ISSUE
COCO’s CHANNEL: Employees at Turner’s Techwood campus in Atlanta surprise new
colleague Conan O’Brien earlier this summer. Turner is one of our 10 best places to work.
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6
EDITOR’S NOTE—
Speak to me.
30REGIONALS—
A listing of cable’s top
regional minorities.
MOST INFLUENTIAL MINORITIES—
Our salute to cable’s top 75 minority executives.
24 MORE INFLUENTIAL MINORITIES—
An additional listing of top minority players.
38
I LOVE MY JOB. I LOVE MY JOB...—
We choose cable’s 10 best places to work.
On the cover:
Cable’s diverse and
colorul rainbow
is represented by
(clockwise from
upper left) Insight’s
Dinni Jain, Salaam
Coleman Smith
of Style, NBC
U’s Henry Ahn and Telemundo’s
Jacqueline Hernández.
CableFAX: The Magazine
An EMMA for EMMA
Our annual review of NAMIC’s awards
for the best in multi-cultural
marketing. At right, an ad for
Comcast’s XFINITY service.
page 34
September 2010
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cablefaxmag.com
editorial
editorial director, ass't vp, cable group
Seth Arenstein
(301) 354-1782, [email protected]
executive editor
Michael Grebb
managing editor
Jessica Clegg
contributors
Seth Arenstein, Steve Donohue, Gerry Ford, Michael Grebb,
Cathy Applefeld Olson
advertising/business
senior vice president and group publisher
Diane Schwartz
publisher
Debbie Vodenos
associate publisher
Amy Abbey
design/production
Joanne Moran, [email protected]
senior production manager
Joann M. Fato
marketing & circulation
director of marketing communications
Amy Jefferies
director of marketing
Carol Brault
Now you’re talking
You’ll notice several changes in
this edition of CableFAX: The
Magazine’s Diversity Issue.
First, instead of repeating the
standard bio profiles, we ask
most of the executives on our
lists about their jobs, companies and interests. Their responses, edited for space here
but available in full at our site,
make for interesting reading.
Knowing a person’s views, career challenges, even their drink
or cuisine of choice can help
build a relationship, which could
become a business advantage.
We also dispense with our traditional Top 50 ranked list. Instead
you’ll see a ranked list of 75. This larger list coincides with an unusual
year, one where NAMIC and BET celebrate 30th anniversaries. We
thought those milestones deserved a slightly longer list.
As in years past, we’ve included unranked lists of influential
executives beyond the 75 (please see p.24), plus important regional
players (please see p.30).
You’d think compiling a list of 75 would be easier than making
one with 50 names. So did I; it was just as difficult.
Despite the paucity of minority executives in some of cable’s
C-suites, there’s an abundance of top-flight minority executives
throughout the industry. Many are included in these pages. Again
for space reasons, plenty of deserving people are not.
In what has become tradition, NAMIC and CableFAX will celebrate
this year’s magazine and those in it during a Diversity Week breakfast Sept 14 at the Hilton, NY. With diversity in cable still a partially
realized idea, we hope this magazine and the points raised during
the breakfast will provoke a deeper discussion about this important
issue and perhaps lead to some results.
***
A word of thanks to all who spent time nominating executives to appear in these pages. Thanks, too, to those who helped us
secure interviews and photos.
Your efforts were invaluable.
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cablefaxmag.com
September 2010
The Most Influential Minorities in Cable:
The Top 75
1. Dinni Jain
President, COO, Insight
Thanks largely to Jain’s leadership, Insight has enjoyed 5
years of basic sub growth.
Jain on cn/2: “It’s a new
kind of news and information
network that we believe will provide substantive, thorough and
timely information. Currently it’s
a 24-hr all-weather channel…
This fall it will launch news and
political programming...There
are a lot of people who are
concerned about the world and
can see through fluff on most
news channels and want more.
Our goal is to meet that need.”
2. Henry Ahn
EVP, TV Networks
Distribution, NBCU
Ahn’s negotiating talents are
well known, even more so
after executing NBCU’s 1st
authentication deal. He’s
always key to Olympics deals.
and serves on the T. Howard
Foundation board.
On Authentication Deals:
“It’s been challenging to provide
distribution rights on a platform
that’s still in a nascent stage and
constantly evolving. Our industry
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By Michael Grebb and Seth Arenstein
has not developed online/TV
Everywhere standards. We, as
an industry, need to coral and
work quickly to do so.”
Ahn on T. Howard: “The
most fulfilling part of being on
the T. Howard board is being
in a room full of distributors
and not being yelled at. All
kidding aside, playing a small
part in developing a pipeline
for minority candidates has
been a tremendous honor
and truly gratifying.”
3. Debra Lee
Chairman/CEO, BET Nets
Lee oversees one of the
world’s most influential multiplatform media companies,
which has posted record
growth on her watch.
Creating C-level Diversity:
“First, companies must put
more effort into bringing in minorities and women at entry and
mid-level positions. Second,
companies need to be willing to
hire minorities and women as
laterals and let them grow into
positions if they don’t have the
exact background necessary
for a particular job. Companies
need to support the excellent
management programs provided by NAMIC and WICT so that
minorities and women can get
the training necessary to move
into management positions.
Finally, if a CEO looks around
his senior staff and doesn’t
see women or minorities, he
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needs to commit to change
that within 12 months no matter how much effort it takes.”
ming to ensure that we provide
the best content, either with
originals or with our partners.”
4. Jacqueline
Hernández
6. Johnathan Rodgers
COO, Telemundo
One of the few Hispanic
women to hold a C-level position in media, the increasing
clout of Telemundo—as well as
that of the Latino audience—
and her expertise should keep
Henandez one of the most
powerful media execs for years.
She’s even got a cool Facebook page.
President/CEO, TV One
This cable good guy has not
only built a major cable network
in 6 years but recently added
impressive original programming, including The Ultimate
Merger reality show with Donald
Trump. An NCTA board member who frequently represents
cable’s views in DC, Rodgers
is the driving force behind TV
One’s public affairs slate, including the excellent Washington
Watch with Roland Martin.
5. Cesar Conde
President, Univision Nets
Conde oversees Univision, TeleFutura, Galavisión and Univision
Studios. He also works closely
with affiliate sales and marketing to keep distributors happy.
On Growth:“Univision is about
growth, integration and innovation. Our strategy is to serve the
U.S. Hispanic community by
offering a product that is 100%
catered to our audience in the
language they speak. We are
always exploring opportunities
and re-evaluating our programSeptember 2010
7. Rita Tuzon
EVP and General Counsel,
Fox Networks
Known inside Fox as Tony
Vinciquerra’s right hand,
Tuzon is FNG’s top-ranking
woman. She oversees legal
for all Fox programming, including its cable properties.
Top Priorities: “These days
it’s digital rights issues of all
stripes, obtaining appropriate
compensation for retransmission consent from distributors
Most Influential Minorities in Cable 2010: The Top 75
and affiliated stations and
strategic planning for opportunities in the sports area.”
8. Marwan Fawaz
EVP, Operations and CTO,
Charter Communications
As Charter waded through turbulent financial issues in 2009,
Fawaz maintained the company’s physical infrastructure—a
difficult task even in good times.
He’s also a leader in cable’s
tech community.
Tech Challenges: “The pace
of product development is accelerating at a rate we haven’t
experienced in our industry
for a long time. That’s both
challenging and exciting. The
challenging part is primarily
related to the additional complexity required in our network
and end-to-end systems. That
results in extra pressure on us
to continue developing employees who are better trained and
equipped to keep up with the
pace of innovation.
Cable’s Biggest Tech Opportunity in ’11: “There are
many...but the main one that
will help transform and evolve
our products is DOCSIS 3.0.”
9. Laureen Ong
President, Travel Channel
Having joined Travel in April,
the former Nat Geo chief has
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a decidedly world view that
should serve her well now.
On Travel’s Slate: “Travel
Channel’s most popular
series center around adventures featuring compelling
characters who engage
viewers. As we move
forward, our programming
must introduce more talent
who inspire and spark discussion. Every journey has
a story. It’s the sharing of
stories that makes travel so
appealing. Our programming in early ’11 will be full
of new personalities who
are entertaining, authentic
and credible.”
10. Herb Scannell
President, BBC
Worldwide America
A top-flight exec, Scannell’s
also a good sport. As Nickelodeon’s chief he allowed himself to be slimed repeatedly
by the net’s trademark green
goo. It’s more serious at his
new gig, which includes BBC
America. On his to-do list:
produce programs in the U.S.
and grow BBC A distribution
beyond 67mln HHs.
Making British Shows
Work in the US: “Quality is
quality and great TV stands
out the world over. The BBC
is renowned for quality and
innovative TV and we’re
lucky to be able to bring the
best of that to BBC America.
More often than not we’re
first with the next new ideas,
new formats and breaking
talent. There’s the occasional
challenge, though. Like the
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British model of making 6-8
episodes/year when U.S.
audiences are accustomed
to 22. We’d certainly prefer
longer runs, but the upside
is more variety and premieres
than any cable network.”
11. Scott Mills
President/CEO, BET Nets
Mills does it all, leading
BET’s business functions,
including ad sales, distribution and international
distribution.
On Opportunities: “Continuing to super serve our
audience across all of our
platforms, in ways such as
the new scripted originals
on BET, a strong programming slate for Centric, our
redesigned Web presence,
continued international expansion and upcoming mobile
applications. In addition, we
are excited about several
non-media opportunities we
are exploring.”
12. Pearlena Igbokwe
SVP, Original Programming,
Showtime Networks
The slew of shows Igbokwe
has helped coax to success
are too numerous to list, but
trust us when we say she’s
on the top of her game and
climbing higher.
September 2010
On Successful Shows:
“I’ve been an executive on a
number of successful shows
(Dexter, Nurse Jackie, Soul
Food). The key ingredients
these shows have had is a
strong, visionary executive
producer and a unique concept that resonates with audiences. An executive like me
can only do so much to help a
show. It’s the people who live
and breathe it on a day-to-day
basis who have to have the
passion for excellence and the
wherewithal to see it through..”
13. Albert Cheng
EVP, Digital, ABC/Disney
One of the smartest guys in
cable, this youth and powerful tech guru deserves that
reputation. Disney has zigged
where others zagged on digital, yet it’s monetizing online
content better than many—
perhaps for that reason.
Challenges, Opportunities:
“Multiplatform access to
premium content will be
what consumers want.
Quality storytelling...will be
the differentiator for success. What’s exciting are the
breakthroughs in technology
and consumer experience
that can elevate the way we
merchandise stories and
connect with our viewers for
a stronger, more meaningful
relationship. The challenge
will be to clearly define the
value proposition for viewers
in every way we distribute
and price our content to
maximize and grow the business with our partners.”
14. Wonya Lucas
EVP/COO, Discovery
Channel, Science Channel
Lucas leads strategy and
operations for two of Discovery’s marquee properties. Her job also includes
oversight of research and
marketing.
On Being Mentored:
“Seeking a diverse group
of mentors is important
because they provide
different perspectives. I’ve
found the mentors who’ve
helped the most have
strong business, interpersonal and life skills. They’ve
all been successful in this
business but they also
share a sense of humility
and enjoy helping others...
I am who I am because of
the women and men
who’ve taken the time to
know me, encourage me
and challenge me.”
15. Ray Gutierrez
EVP, Human Resources,
CBS Television Networks
Talk about multitasking, Gutierrez heads HR for Showtime,
CBS Sports, CBS College
Sports, CBS News and CBS
TV Nets. A class act, he’ll
chair NAMIC’s board Nov 1.
On Philanthropy: “Giving
back is something I feel is
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an obligation as a result of
my good fortune. My grandparents, who are from Spain
and Mexico, instilled in me
the importance of hard
work and education. While
that’s been very helpful,
I’ve also been lucky to find
myself at a great company
like Showtime. I’ve always
been encouraged by Matt
Blank to get involved with
non-profit and industry
organizations... For women
and minorities, breaking into
senior ranks still isn’t easy.
It’s incumbent upon us to
try to help others and make
a positive difference.”
16. Salaam
Coleman Smith
President, The Style
Network
Coleman Smith is one of
the few African-American
women running a cable net
(and one of the youngest).
On her watch, Style has
grown with inspirational
shows like Ruby and fun
fare like Jerseylicious.
On Ruby: “I’m especially
proud of our Emmy-nominated docu-series Ruby,
which chronicles the life of
a severely obese woman
in Savannah, GA. Ruby’s
personal journey to lose
weight and celebrate life has
inspired so many viewers
to make positive changes.
Ruby is incredibly beautiful—inside and out—and
we’ve been able to use the
series to create a campaign
to fight obesity.”
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17. Christina Norman
CEO, OWN
Oprah. Need we say more?
The highly anticipated
debut of OWN in ’11 will put
Norman to the test. Having spent years honing her
executive skills at MTV, she
should be up to the task.
OWN’s Path: “Our mission is to create TV with
intention—TV that inspires
and informs, and of course,
entertains and brings our
audience into the conversation. We aren’t just telling
stories; we’re sharing stories. Our launch on 1/1/11
is just the beginning of this
amazing journey into a new
media landscape, where the
viewer is the inspiration, not
just the destination.”
19. Lisa
Williams-Fauntroy
SVP, Business Affairs &
Legal, Discovery Comm
The global media company’s
senior African-American
attorney, Williams-Fauntroy
still makes time to mentor students in DC and lead clothing
drives for the poor.
On Being a Media Lawyer:
“No work day is the same
and such unpredictability
requires me to be nimble;
in just a few hours I might
negotiate TV deal points,
review show content for
legal issues or draft nuanced
provisions in a contract - and
I love it. Discovery’s everevolving businesses keep me
from being too myopic, allow
me to sharpen my skills and
stretch me to places beyond
the traditional role of an attorney. As a ‘closet creative,’
reviewing content and having
daily interaction with programming and production is
a rewarding outlet.”
18. Loretta Walker
SVP/Chief HR Officer,
Turner Broadcasting
System
Walker has executive oversight for the gamut of HR
issues and heads Turner’s
global HR group. Under her
leadership, TBS has been
recognized for excellence
inside cable, but also by
DiversityInc, Working Mother
and the Society for HR
Management, among
many others.
September 2010
20. Doug Gaston
SVP and General Counsel,
Comcast Cable
In case you haven’t heard,
Comcast has a few legal
issues pending, including
a potential merger with a
peacock and myriad other
at ITVT’s TV of Tomorrow
Show for his leadership in
multiplatform TV.
questions. Gaston is in the
middle of it all. Before joining the MSO, the grad of
Temple U and Villanova Law
School was a corporate associate at Morgan Lewis &
Bockius.
21.George Cheeks
EVP/Co-Gen Counsel, MTVN
The grandson of Ella Mae
Johnson, the first female
African-American student
to attend Case Western U,
Cheeks has done his family proud. A key advisor to
Judy McGrath, he recently
won the Diversity Champion
award from the NYC Bar.
Looking Ahead: “Increasing consumer demand for
content across all platforms
and devices dictates the
legal and business trends in
the entertainment industry...
We must continue to develop distribution strategies
that increase reach while
enhancing the consumer
experience so that people
are incented to source our
content legally. Deal making
must adapt quickly to meet
these ever-evolving business imperatives. Content
production and distribution must work together to
combat piracy. The initiatives must focus on tougher
enforcement of intellectual
property laws, legislative
initiatives, partnerships with
ISPs and pressure on participants in the piracy ecosystem.... And there must be
a laser focus on consumer
outreach and education.”
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22. Marlene Dooner
26. Richard Gay
SVP, Investor Relations,
Comcast Corp
Think you’re busy? Dooner
is responsible for developing and managing Comcast’s relationships with the
investment community and
shareholders—and we’re
guessing they’ve had a lot
of questions lately when
it comes to the pending
NBCU deal.
On Keeping Investors
Informed: “We have a very
active investor communications program, including hundreds of investor
meetings and conferences.
One area where we have
increased our communications is online. Our investor
site...has turned into a great
resource for those who
invest in or follow our company. We plan to continue to
enhance it.”
EVP, Strategy & Business
Ops, MTV & VH1 Nets
Gay heads strategy for a slew
of properties, but also finds
time to work on behalf of the
Chicago Urban League, the
Museum of Television and Radio and the Studio Museum
of Harlem, to name a few.
On Keeping Ahead of The
Curve: “We...are constantly
listening to our audience and
having continuous dialog with
companies and members of
the investment community...
and, in what I truly believe
is an advantage for MTVN,
listening to our employees.
...we have the added bonus
at MTV and VH1 of having
employees who are members
of the very target audiences
that we are trying to serve.”
24. Loretha Jones
President, Original
Programming, BET
Jones drove BET’s originals
to their best ratings year
in ’09.
Will We See a Shift Toward Scripted Programming? “We already are, with
some cable networks using
scripted shows to become
brand-defining....Networks
that are successful in doing
this can translate the content into a real connection
with an audience and, in
turn, drive ratings.”
25. Ed Huguez
23. Arthur Orduna
CTO, Canoe Ventures
One of cable’s brightest
minds, Orduna carries much
weight as he heads a team
of engineers across the
country building a platform
to enable nationally distributed iTV. An active member
of SCTE, NCTA, NAMIC and
CTAM, he received an award
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EVP, Aff Sales & Marketing,
Starz Entertainment
As the top affiliate sales and
marketing exec at Starz,
Huguez sits at the epicenter
of affiliate dealmaking for its
core multichannel business.
Originals and Affiliates:
“Spartacus and Pillars of the
Earth have been valuable
additions and great complements to our premium movie
programming. Demand from
affiliates to promote Starz
originals has exceeded our
expectations....”
September 2010
27. Brenda Freeman
CMO, Turner Bdcasting’s
Animation, Young Adults and
Kids Media
The veteran marketing/promotion executive has lead
efforts to turn Cartoon Net
into a dominant youth-culture
brand, in addition to shepherding the runaway success
of Adult Swim.
Communicating With Youth:
“Cartoon Network attracts
a demo that has a unique
sensibility...Therefore it’s very
important that we serve up our
content in all the places that
youth spend time...A great tactic at the moment is identifying
the most exquisite bit of content
from a show and determining
ways to seed it so kids can
discover it on their own, then
share with their friends. Nothing
beats peer word of mouth.”
28. Nigel Cox-Hagan
EVP, Creative Group and Consumer Marketing, VH-1
Cox-Hagan oversees consumer marketing, creative and
on-screen promotions for VH1,
VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul and
Palladia. He controls VH1’s
multi-million dollar marketing
budget and was responsible
for the successful rebranding of
BET Networks’ Centric.
29. Mae Douglas
SVP and Chief People Officer,
Cox Communications
The first African-American
woman on Cox’s executive
team, Douglas helped create
Cox’s National Talent Development program. She initiated
The Cox Diversity Council and
co-chairs it with Cox President
Pat Esser. “Mae has the unique
ability to make others not only
be better, but want to be better,” Esser says.
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How Cable Can Attract/
Retain Diverse Employees:
“Provide opportunity for
continuous learning in order to
manage their careers. Supply
mentors so they can successfully connect with others
who can assist them with the
unwritten rules of the culture.
Have leaders who are culturally
competent and understand
how to lead different groups.”
30. Stephen Hill
Pres, Music Prog &
Specials, BET
Anyone who’s watched BET
over its 30-year history knows
that music has been an
integral part of its DNA. While
BET has diversified its slate in
recent years, music and special events remain key—and
Hill is in charge of those.
On Keeping BET Fresh:
“We understand that to our
audience, music matters... And
because of our strong connection to the pulse of AfricanAmerican culture, we’ve been
able to create moments that
were unforgettable and in some
cases, unbelievable…We set
the standard when we honor
our collective accomplishments
and understand our ability to
inspire great things.”
31. Steve Apodaca
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President, Ops, Charter
Communications
As President of the West
Operating Group, Apodaca
was so impressive he was
promoted recently to his current position overseeing sales
and service ops nationwide.
Challenges of a New Job:
“It was a welcome challenge,
but when the geographic
scope of my job essentially
doubled overnight, our team
had to quickly adjust the
structure of our organization to
ensure the right people were in
the right positions. Speed was
critical to continue focusing on
the customer experience and
avoid interrupting the pace of
Charter’s operations.”
32. Byron Allen
Founder/Owner, Entertainment Studios Networks
Comic, talk show host and
broadcast syndication exec,
Allen’s one of the few African
Americans who owns a media
company in its entirety. Now
he’s pushing to get cable carriage for his six HD networks.
On Cable and Diversity:
“Cable’s done a horrible job
– it’s a tragedy and a national
disgrace. Women don’t own
networks that are widely
distributed, nor do Asians,
Latinos, LGBTs, Native Americans or African Americans.
And without diversity in media
ownership, we can’t have
a true democracy. It’s time
for President Obama, FCC
Chairman Genachowski and
Attorney General Holder to
step in and deliver change.”
September 2010
33. Lisa Chang
SVP, HR, Turner
Broadcasting System
Chang leads HR for the
company’s entire Technology, Strategy & Operations
division and TBS’ International
division. In addition to that,
she’s President of the CTHRA
board and Founder/Chair of
its Human Capital Benchmark
Survey Committee.
Employee Needs in a
Recovering Economy:
“Employees seem to be
keenly interested in learning &
development. Coming out of
the recession there seems to
be a greater focus on building
personal skill sets that are
translatable. Given the fast
pace of change in our industry, it’s in our best interest to
provide these opportunities to
ensure we have the best and
most skilled talent available
as well.”
34. Chris Powell
EVP, HR, Scripps Networks
Among Powell’s many
achievements, he has led
Scripps’ enterprise-wide
training and development
initiatives, including the Mentoring Experience program
and Foundations of Leadership management training.
He serves on the WICT and
CTHRA boards.
Does Scripps Recruit
Talent Aggressively in a
Slow Economy? “Most
definitely...Regardless of
the state of the economy,
Scripps needs to have
the best talent to optimize
our success..The current
economic environment is
an opportunity for Scripps
to proactively source and
recruit candidates working in
organizations that might not
be able to offer them an opportunity to contribute, grow
and be rewarded for their
performance, experience
and skills.”
35. Lino Garcia
GM, ESPN Deportes
As Deportes’ founding GM,
soft-spoken Garcia’s at the
top of his game as the mainstream TV industry is just
starting to grasp the power
of the Latino audience and
its love of sports and TV.
On Opportunities: “There
are so many in the next 12
months, but I will highlight
just a couple. First, the ’10
Census is anticipated to
open even more doors for
the U.S. Hispanic marketplace. ESPN Deportes will
benefit from being further
lifted by that rising tide.
As was the case in the ’00
Census, more and more
companies will invest in
the Hispanic marketplace.
Networks like ESPN Deportes, which have proven
to deliver value for affiliates
and advertisers, will ben-
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efit significantly. Within our
space, Deportes...will have
a strong emphasis on mobile and online.”
38. Paul Richardson
36. Mark Garner
SVP, Distribution, Business
Dev & Marketing, AETN
A tireless champion of
interactive technology
and advanced media, the
thoughtful Garner is one
of the architects of AETN’s
digital distribution strategy,
negotiating TV Everywhere
deals and developing interactive TV and commerce applications. A member of our
Sales Hall of Fame, Garner
chairs the NAMIC board and
is Co-chair of CTAM’s ACSC
Multiplatform Committee.
37. Kevin Stephens
SVP/Commercial &
Ad Ops, Suddenlink
Stephens leads a multilevel sales organization that
includes ad sales, business
and carrier services, which
generates some $250mln in
annual revenue and represents a major growth driver.
A proven leader at Suddenlink who’s active in several
industry groups, Stephens
establishes specific and fair
goals—and then holds staff
accountable to them.
cablefaxmag.com
SVP, HR, ESPN
The veteran HR pro oversees
ESPN’s 6K+ workforce in 50
business units worldwide. Beyond Bristol, he’s most proud
of his service to the Foundation Board of the CA State
Summer School for the Arts.
On ESPN’s Challenges in
Recruiting Qualified Global
Candidates: “Despite the
economic downturn, competition for the best talent
remains fierce. At ESPN, we
believe our people are our
most valuable resource; they
give us a competitive advantage. Among other things, this
means we are challenged to
make sure potential employees know who we are as an
employer, our values and
priorities, the kind of career
development they can expect,
the importance of diversity
and the absolute necessity
to maintain a positive, global
work environment where every employee can bring their
‘whole’ self to work and contribute at the highest level.”
39. Hamid Heidary
EVP, Central Operations, CTO,
Insight Communications
Insight’s tech whiz is leading
the charge to make the MSO
all-digital, so it can offer 100
September 2010
HD nets and faster data.
On an IP World: “I am
intrigued with how everything is converging toward
an IP delivery mechanism.
[Soon]..IP delivery will most
probably take center stage
and become the principal
method of providing services to our customers. Today
we use about 95% of our
network capacity to deliver
video (analogue or MPEG
digital) and only a sliver for
IP-centric services...One
view is our networks eventually will become a total IP
delivery system for all that
we offer, video, phone and
high-speed data.”
40. Enrique R. Martínez
EVP and Managing Director,
Discovery Nets Latin Am
Martinez has helped Discovery’s 13 Latin American nets
gain carriage in 34 countries,
reaching 153mln subs.
Comparing Discovery in
Latin America and the US:
“One of the things that makes
Discovery such a strong
media brand is our content,
much of which has universal
appeal. Bear Grylls does well
in the US, but also with Latin
American audiences. Big productions such as Planet Earth,
NASA and Life have universal
appeal, too. But there are
differences. The US version
of Life used Oprah Winfrey
to narrate; in Latin America
we used Grammy winning
singer-songwriter Juanes—a
personality and voice that
Latin America recognized.”
41. Lisa Choi Owens
SVP, Digital Media, Scripps
A member of Scripps’ Senior
Management Committee
who’s heavily involved in
the company’s global plans,
Owens leads digital activities,
including the heavily trafficked foodnetwork.com,
hgtv.com and now travelchannel.com. She’s a NAMIC
board member and a Betsy
Magness alum.
What Programmers Will
Do Online in the Future: “I
would imagine that programmers will not be doing ‘more’
of the same, but will be
taking more advantage of the
utility of the Web, with more
complementary vs. just tightly
aligned experience with programming. There will likely be
more integration with social
networks. Sites will feature
a true two-way dialogue
with users vs. broadcasting
information the programmer
chooses to communicate.
Through such two-way
dialogue, programmers will
get more user participation
in creating or at least guiding
content decisions.”
42. Lisa Hsia
SVP, Digital Media, Bravo
Hsia heads Bravo Media’s
digital endeavors, which have
18
received Emmy noms four
years running.
Advice on Starting a
Digital Career: “There’s no
age barrier to working in the
digital media space! Whatever your age or experience,
success will come from
having a sense of curiosity
about what’s happening in
this rapidly changing field
and a feel for what makes
something compelling to
a user. Next, you need to
focus on the metrics and
business models to make
a compelling case for your
ideas. A passion for learning
– coupled with smart strategy – is the most important
quality.”
43. Michael Smith
GM, Cooking Channel
The pop culture success of
Food earned its former marketing SVP a shot at launching Cooking.
The Difference Between
Cooking and Food Net:
“Cooking Channel is a
complement to Food. It’s
for people who want to take
things to the next level, passionate food lovers seeking
more instruction, exploration
into diverse topics, more
chefs and personalities.”
Smith’s Favorite Indulgence/Comfort Foods:
“Lemon-flavored sweets
and desserts, whether it’s
lemon pound cake, lemon
meringue pie, lemon drop
candy, or lemonade. I
love the contrast of sweet
and tart.”
cablefaxmag.com
has continued under Brian
Roberts. Giving back is part
of our DNA. Our focuses are
expanding digital literacy, building tomorrow’s leaders and
promoting community service.”
44. Veronica Cajigas
SVP, Intl Media & Global Bus
Ops, Discovery Comm
The Harvard alum and former
management consultant
handles global media operations across Discovery’s portfolio. She’s consistently cited
internally for honors.
Developing a Global Cable
Business: “Make sure you
understand the market and its
stakeholders. Only after doing
that decide what can be leveraged and applied from your
previous experiences (e.g. the
US market) and what needs
to be ‘customized’ to meet
local needs. I have always applied the phrase ‘Think globally, act locally’ to summarize
my approach.”
46. Michelle Rice
EVP, Affiliate Sales &
Marketing, TV One
A Betsy Magness alum and
NAMIC board member, Rice
led the team that captured our
Sales Team of the Year honors
earlier this year and pushed TV
One past the 50mln sub mark.
As TV One chief Johnathan
Rodgers says, “She personally sets an example of how
multi-ethnic diversity can and
should be represented within
our industry.”
45. Charisse Lillie
47. Nathalie Lubensky
EVP, Comcast Foundation;
VP, Community Investment,
Comcast Corp
Lillie is a fixture in cable, heading Comcast’s community outreach and investment—which
have become substantial.
The Importance of Comcast’s Community Activities: “When Ralph Roberts
founded Comcast, he was
committed to creating a
culture that fostered community service and employee
engagement. That philosophy
SVP, Affiliate Marketing, ESPN
Lubensky’s work on the ESPN
Diversity Council has enabled
her to influence initiatives that
attract the best talent for the
nets she represents.
On Changes in Affiliate
Needs: “Strategies have
evolved from transactional marketing (providing special offers
and rewards) to a longer-term
view of building brands. Ultimately, affiliates are looking for
ways to strengthen customer
engagement with their products
September 2010
and services. Affiliate marketing
programs that thrive now and
well into the future will focus
on supporting brand building,
which will include ‘exclusive’
content/opportunities and a
major thrust on retention and
consumer engagement.”
48. Tamara Franklin
SVP, Affiliate Strategy &
Business Development,
Scripps Networks
A mentor and active WICT
member, Franklin’s ’09 successes with renewals led to her
being named National Accounts
Team Leader for Comcast.
Franklin on Mentoring:
“I believe every interaction
represents an opportunity to
mentor and/or be mentored.
As such, I believe I am mentoring (and being mentored by) a
very diverse group, on some
level, at any given time...I
always encourage others to
establish career goals and objectives based upon knowledge
growth, professional development and exposure, rather
than ‘the trappings of success,’
such as title or office size. If you
do the former well, the later
almost always follows.”
49. Terry Cordova
SVP, CTO, Suddenlink
Communications
20
Set to celebrate 30 years in
cable, Cordova’s team last year
launched a bandwidth reclamation effort to support new
services, including capacity for
200 HD channels.
Cable’s Top Tech Hurdles:
“It’s critical that MSOs, SCTE
and CableLabs continue to
drive standardization (software & architecture) in key
industry initiatives like IP
video, media gateways, multiroom DVR and Tru2Way/EBIF.
Standards will help bring more
choice to customers quicker
and more cost effectively and
could be the impetus to inspire innovation by application
developers and non-traditional CPE manufacturers.”
50. Melody Tan
SVP, Strategy and Business
Ops, Content Distribution
and Marketing, MTV Networks, BET Networks
Holder of one of the longest
titles in cable, Tan’s work
reaches a bevy of issues, platforms and technologies, from
authentication and advanced
advertising to acquisitions.
Tan on Her Portfolio Focus:
“Distribution is a critical revenue-growth driver. Therefore,
I focus on identifying new
opportunities that strengthen
our relationships with key
cable, DBS and telco affiliates, as well as with emerging
distributors. TV remains the
primary entertainment screen,
and we seek to enhance the
TV viewing experience by
developing VOD, HDTV, interactive TV and 3D. We also
cablefaxmag.com
recognize online and mobile
as critical complements to
TV and are participating in TV
Everywhere/Authentication to
provide compelling, multiscreen access.”
legislation and technology.
Showtime’s Most Exciting
Growth Prospects: “Continuing to meet consumer
and affiliate demand for great
programming is at the core of
our momentum and growth
potential. Digital media marketing and ITV initiatives provide innovative tools to extend
our reach. Partnering with
affiliates who promote the
enduring value of premium
content remains essential.”
51. Janet Rollé
EVP & CMO, BET
The veteran marketer held
senior posts at MTV Networks
prior to joining AOL. She joined
BET in ’07 and chairs the US
Tennis Association’s Multicultural Participation Committee.
Advice on Seeking a Media
Job Wth an Untraditional
Background: “Leverage
your prior experience while
augmenting it with the training
necessary to succeed in the
industry. I made my transition
from dance to marketing by
getting an MBA to acquire
relevant skills, while building
on the aspects of dance that
would serve me best in business: respect for the creative
process, self-discipline, teamwork and leadership.”
53. Enzo Francescoli
Founder, CEO, Gol TV
Cable has fine athletes in its
ranks, but they’d find it tough
to best Francescoli, one of the
great soccer players of all time.
Is it Tougher Being Picked
by Pele’s as a Top 100 Soccer Player or Running Gol
TV/GolTV HD? “I don’t know
that I could put one above the
other. It was difficult to create a
soccer channel in the US from
scratch, but our team turned
the idea into a reality. I couldn’t
be prouder. Being selected as
1 of the 100 best players in history is 1 of the greatest honors
of my life, without a doubt.”
52. Sara Clarke
SVP, Corporate Strategy,
Analysis and Communication, Showtime Networks
The Harvard MBA develops
strategies on everything
from sales and marketing to
revenue growth, distribution,
September 2010
54. Abby Pfeiffer
SVP, HR, Charter
The Betsy Magness alum
was upped to SVP in ’09.
She oversees benefits, comp,
training and more.
Overcoming Career
Hurdles: “The most challenging lesson I learned as an HR
professional was to pick my
battles. Early on I wanted to
bring about positive change,
but this didn’t always align
with what others felt were
priorities for the business. So I
learned to first understand the
business and then align functional priorities accordingly.”
55. Luis Silberwasser
SVP, Content, Discovery
Latin America/US Hispanic
Nets; GM, US Hispanic Nets
Silberwasser recently was
tapped to head content for
Discovery Nets International’s
100 channels in 180 countries.
Biggest Challenges Heading Content for Discovery
Nets Intl: “Earlier this year, I’d
say my biggest challenge was
getting out of Europe despite
the Icelandic volcano eruption.
Seriously, in the US, people
think of ‘international’ as one
big region. The reality is that
it’s made of very different and
complex sub regions; within
those regions, there are significant differences, business, cultural and TV consumer habits.
It makes this ‘international’ job
very complex, but extremely
exciting and full of opportunities. The biggest challenge is
navigating the nuances and
complexities, keeping your eye
on identifying common trends
and developing new ideas that
will give Discovery the biggest
impact in the long term.”
56. Donna Northington
SVP, Strategic Planning,
Turner Network Sales
An alum of Betsy Magness,
CTAM’s Executive Program
(Harvard) and NAMIC’s ELDP
(UCLA), Northington’s portfolio
extends from distribution to
content acquisition.
The Value of Cable’s Associations: “The value
NAMIC, WICT and CTAM have
brought to our organization is
immeasurable. The breadth
and quality of opportunities
enhances all, from executives
who experience the first-class
Ivy League rigor of CTAM’s Harvard Executive Program, to our
rising stars, who gain leadership
experience through seminars
and workshops offered by
NAMIC and WICT... The ability
to supplement the professional
development offered at our
home company with industry
programs exponentially builds
the talent needed to succeed
in this complex, ever-changing
environment.”
Next 5 Years: “In 2011,
cable networks will carry the
majority of programming hours
for the NBA playoffs, MLB
postseason, NASCAR Sprint
Cup season, the four golf
majors, the Bowl Championship Series games and the
NCAA Div I men’s basketball
championship...I see a continuation of this trend for 5 years
with more top-shelf, must-see
sporting events on cable.”
58. Claudia Teran
SVP, Associate General Counsel, Fox Cable Networks
Teran played a pivotal role in
the renewal of Fox Soccer
Channel’s rights to England’s
Barclays Premier League. She
handles legal for Fox Sports in
Latin America, Fuel TV here
and overseas and Fox’s global
sports syndication business.
Cultural Differences and
Business: “Where you’re
doing business inevitably influences you—whether domestic
or international. To be successful, it’s critical to be aware
of cultural as well as business
norms. Doing our homework
before entering into a negotiation is important.”
57. Mathew Hong
SVP, GM, Sports Operations,
Turner Sports
A fierce advocate for diversity,
Hong’s been integral to Turner
deals with the NCAA, MLB,
NASCAR and Yahoo! Sports.
Hong on Cable Sports’
September 2010
59. Jacqueline Welch
SVP, HR, Turner
Broadcasting System
A tireless community volunteer, The Partnership Against
Domestic Violence (PADV)
board chairman’s day job
has her working with TBS’s
corporate-level global talent
management, diversity and
development.
Employment Advice:
“Wherever you work or endeavor to work, understand
the organization’s model for
making money and how what
you do supports it. Basic
business acumen goes a long
way, as does being informed
about industry trends. That’s
why daily press clippings are
posted prominently on Turner’s Intranet, so employees
have easy access to general
news and content specific
to Time Warner and Turner. I
also urge people to listen in
on their organization’s quarterly earnings calls. From a
soft-skills perspective I always
stress the importance of clear
communication, regardless of
the form.”
60. Pragash Pillai
SVP, Engineering &
Technology, Bresnan
One of cable’s most respected tech minds, Pillai uses a
‘fast forward’ approach. He
observes big MSOs’ tech
doings and quickly follows the
best examples.
Tech Developments: “Digital
media portability and convergence are becoming very
robust, especially with IP delivery of content. We are able
to provide content through
various mediums to custom-
cablefaxmag.com
21
ers. Cable is transforming into
an advanced telecommunications platform.”
61. Susan Banks
EVP, Marketing, TV One
Honored by Ebony in ’08 as
one of 10 Outstanding Women
in Marketing and Communications, Banks has done much
with a limited budget. In just
a few years, her branding of
TV One earned her a ProMax
Brand Builder Award (2007).
CFO, Discovery Comm
Think you have a lot to do?
Wilson not only heads the
global accounting staff for
Discovery’s 120 networks
globally, he’s also Division
CFO for Digital Media, Education and Commerce.
On Handling a Huge
Portfolio: “I apply basic rules
to ensure I’m productive and
responsive to the everyday
challenges of managing a
large global team: 1. I try to
set clear, measurable goals
and give continuous feedback. 2. I stay flexible and
dynamic in thought, as no
plan turns out the way you
anticipate. 3. I re-prioritize daily and keep an active “to-do”
list. 4. I think business first, to
help prioritize my workload.
5. I communicate; I isten and
talk to people, stay connected
and plugged into what is happening at all levels.”
62. Luis Torres-Bohl
President, Mexicanal
Torres-Bohl is known for being a hands-on leader who’s
poised to continue growing the
Mexican-themed network as it
reaches it 5th anniversary this
year. In ’10, west coast launches were executed in multiple
major markets as Torres-Bohl
commuted between the U.S.
and Mexico, developing and
cementing relationships.
63. Drew Wilson
SVP, Global Ops; Division
22
65. Myrna Soto
67. Gustavo Prillick
SVP, Chief Information & Infrastructure Security Officer,
Comcast Cable
In addition to being responsible
for information and infrastructure security, including customer data, Soto finds time to
mentor Hispanic young adults
for IT leadership positions.
Mentoring Changes: “I find
myself focusing on more social
media and social networking
education. Not only how these
channels can be very beneficial
from a professional networking
and knowledge management
perspective, but also the perils
of not managing your digital
identity well. The Internet is forever, so I always tell those I am
mentoring to be very selective
in how they use certain sites,
as professional discretion is
extremely important.”
Pres/CEO, Broadstripe LLC
Prillick’s leading Broadstripe’s
160K subs out of Chapter 11
by upgrading its plant and call
center. A veteran of several
industries, he’s also instituted
lifetime pricing options for
phone and Internet.
Comparing Cable to
Other Industries: “Cable
lacked a lot of competition
for a long time, thus it lacks a
sensibility to customer needs
and response time present in
other industries. Cable also has
a complex business model with
lots of moving parts requiring
motivated and talented people.
Upgrading the skill set and
level of commitment of staff to
treat customers as an extension of their family is perhaps
the biggest challenge I’ve ever
experienced.”
66. Keith Dawkins
68. Karen Wishart
SVP/GM, Nicktoons &
Teennick
A member of MTVN’s Office
of Global Inclusion Advisory
Committee, Dawkins’ plate
got more crowded in Aug as
he added oversight of Teennick. The only GM Nicktoons
has ever had, the 7-year
Nick veteran previously was
a supervising producer for
VH1 News.
EVP, Chief Legal Officer,
TV One
Wishart’s much more than TV
One’s top lawyer. She’s often
its chief deal negotiator and is
involved with myriad issues.
Skills Law Schools Should
Teach About Business: “Law
schools are great at teaching
legal analysis skills, but not
nearly as good at introducing
advanced business skills, like
64. Rob King
Editor-In-Chief, ESPN.com
Bristol has lured some of the
country’s top newspaper writers to work for the portal King
runs. Earlier this year King
and his team launched sports
sites in key markets, including
Chicago, LA and NY.
Keeping espn.com Relevant: “We keep our ears and
eyes open and never stop
asking ourselves how we can
do a better job of meeting the
needs of sports fans.”
Favorite Spectator Sport:
“The NFL has me in its crushing grip. But I’ll also watch
anyone swing a golf club.”
cablefaxmag.com
September 2010
business analysis, planning or
risk assessment. Hundreds of
lawyers can write a great legal
brief, but not nearly enough
can balance legal answers
with a company’s business
reality and risk tolerance. As
many of us in cable also are
responsible for business development, having this knowledge is crucial to the success
and growth of our companies.
69. Sebastian Trujillo
SVP and Operating Manager,
Galavisión Network
Trujillo’s been running programming, operations and
production for the network
since April ’08.
On Improving, Growing:
“In today’s fragmented media
environment, the challenge is
not only to provide our loyal audience with the best product via
existing platforms, but to deliver
engaging content that goes
beyond traditional TV viewing.
One opportunity is through
targeted interactive initiatives;
another is by working closely
with our distribution partners on
non-linear offerings.”
70. Kimberly Edmunds
SVP, Customer Operations,
Cox Communications
The Betsy Magness grad
and new Cable Center board
member brings years of local
experience (she was a Cox
GM) to her corporate post.
3 Ways Cable Can Improve
Customer Service: “Think
more broadly about what customer service is. Recognize
traditional customer service is
only foundational to ensuring
that customers remain loyal,
committed and profitable....
Two, become very strategic
about how we weave together
great products and a superior
experience throughout the
many stages of a customer’s
life cycle...Three, invite the
customer into every decision.
Allow them to shape what we
do in serving them, but also in
sales and marketing.”
with a one-two punch against
the toughest competition.”
74. Tina Waters
72. Anand Kini
SVP, Financial Analysis &
Planning, Comcast Cable
The Harvard MBA assesses
trends, prepares forecasts,
3-year plans and budgets.
Is Cable Recession-Proof?
“No business is truly recessionproof. However, despite a
challenging economy, cable
continues to deliver solid financial results. It generated 24%
free cash flow growth in ’09
and stocks have outperformed
the market by 20% in ’10.
Cable’s ability to offer compelling value... drives its resiliency.”
71. Jatin Desai
CTO, itaas
The Atlanta-based interactive
TV provider has racked up
big EBIF wins with Comcast
thanks to Desai’s businessminded engineering solutions.
Top Technologies: “I am
most excited about technologies like DOCSIS 3.0, MoCA
2.0, which increase bandwidth for consumers. Adding
bandwidth will enable service
providers to offer truly innovative interactive services in
addition to more content and
better connectivity. Consumers will benefit from the new
services that the extra bandwidth will allow, getting us
closer to the holy grail of any
content, anywhere, anytime.
The extra bandwidth, when
combined with EBIF, tru2way
and beyond can provide cable
September 2010
SVP, Human Performance for
Customer Ops, Comcast
Waters strategizes on recruitment, retention, recognition
and development for 50K+
customer care workers.
Her Priorities: “To help our
employees focus on delivering a consistently superior
customer experience, we’re:
1. Acquiring the Best Talent.
We’ve launched a pre-employment screening tool for Customer Care that’s based on
core competencies...2. Engaging & Motivating Talent. We’re
developing supervisors so
they’re able to focus at least
60% of their time coaching
frontline teams. 3. Maximizing
Performance. We’re...focusing
on setting clear goals....”
73. Janet Han
Vissering
SVP, Program Development,
Global Wild, NGCI
Talk about diversity, the 250+
hours of original programming
Vissering commissions yearly
runs in 166 countries.
Gut Check on Global
Programming: “Programs
need to transcend language
and cultural barriers. The best
way to do this is to focus on
finding programs with strong
stories and characters. Having this foundation will most
always transcend language
and cultural boundaries.”
75. Julie Wurfel
SVP, Strategy & Business
Dev, Scripps Nets Intl
Wurfel’s job is tied to Scripps’
belief that global expansion
will become a critical growth
engine. As such, she’s among
cable’s world travelers.
Travel Tips: “1. Travel light
(carry-on only = no lost baggage!); 2. Sleeping pills are
your friend; and 3. Exercise as
soon as you land at a destination. Somewhat cheeky, but I
really live by these principles!”
cablefaxmag.com
23
More of the Most Influential
As cable becomes more diverse, it is increasingly difficult to come up with a single list of worthy individuals. That’s why we’ve
compiled an unranked group of minority executives who have a large influence on the national scene and a similar listing for
the regional side, beginning on page 28. As with our Top 75 list, we’ve largely eschewed corporate bios and instead quizzed
these influential players on everything from business ideas to mentoring to favorite foods and beverages.
Michael Armstrong
SVP/GM
BET International
Armstrong has grown the BET
International footprint to more
than 50 countries in fewer
than two years, including
significant strides in the U.K.,
Middle East and Africa during
the past year. “To really target
an African American audience
in today’s environment, cable
networks must work across
multiple platforms and develop
a wide range of programming
to reflect the audience’s ever
increasing interests,” he says
Black Entertainers Who Are
Breaking Fresh Ground: “I
may be biased by my international role, but black British actors like Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie
Okonedo and Idris Elba show
incredible range and talent.”
James Anderson
SVP, Public Relations
Turner Broadcasting’s
Animation, Young Adults
& Kids Media Group
Anderson heads messaging
and positioning—on and off
camera—for Cartoon Network,
Adult Swim and Boomerang.
Advice For Someone Trying
to Break into Cable: “Read
everything about the overall
business and what’s going on
with each company.”
24
Best Non-Cable PR Campaign:
“Fox’s campaign for Glee has
been great to watch unfold.”
Most Valuable Social Media
Tool: “Facebook and Twitter.
But that could change next
week the way this medium is
constantly evolving.”
Deanna Andaverde
SVP, Field Operations
Univision Communications
This Spanish-language distribution whiz worked her magic
again at Univision last year, closing more than 130 retransmission consent deals representing
indie operators. She also led the
field team in Univision’s VOD
launches for its 34 million-plus
enabled subscribers.
to Break in to Cable: “Join an
industry organization and find a
mentor. Read the Jones Cable
TV Information And Infrastructure Dictionary.”
What Other Company Runs
Great Field Ops? “Lexus.
Their dedication to quality and
superior customer service has
given them such a competitive
advantage, others are hardpressed to compete.”
Franklyn Athias
SVP, IP Communications;
Wireless CTO, Comcast
cablefaxmag.com
Comcast veteran Athias led
the company’s recent Wi-Fi
deployment and its Wi-Fi
roaming agreement with Time
Warner Cable and Cablevision in New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut. He literally
unplugs every July to attend
Reggae SumFest in Jamaica.
to Break in to Cable: “You
have to remain knowledgeable
on technology and services
that are changing rapidly. You
also have to become a user of
some of these services so you
can intelligently see how they
benefit your business.”
Paxton Baker
EVP/GM, Centric;
President, BET Event
Productions
Veteran TV and music exec
Baker keeps the beat at Centric,
the BET spin-off network targeting the 25-54 African-American
audience. He is focused on
bringing a mix of “originals that
reflect their interests, classics
that reignite their passions, and
a playlist of the music that provides the flavor, as a soundtrack
to their lives.”
What The Centric Demo
Seeking: “Centric’s programming reflects the lifestyle
and sophistication of today’s
mature African-American and
multi-cultural adult. That is the
foundation of our network, so
our programming is not only
entertaining but also enlightening to our audience.”
Kenetta Bailey
Ivan Bargueiras
SVP, Marketing, WE tv
and Wedding Central
The consummate ‘wedding
planner’ took WE’s prowess of
all things marital on the road last
year with a 20-city wedding mall
tour. She also led the partnership
with Web site The Wedding
Report and helped establish the
network’s burgeoning roster of
wedding experts.
Wedding Advice: “Wife and
husband should always mingle
with their guests together.
Otherwise they’ll have separate
memories from the reception.”
Favorite Non-Cable Marketing Campaign: “Dunkin’
Donuts’ Keep It Coolatta
Sweepstakes showed keen
consumer insight – people love
freebies – engagement was
high, brand awareness soared.”
SVP, Advertising Sales
Discovery Networks Latin
America/U.S. Hispanic
Despite a shrinking marketplace, Bargueiras and his
group delivered solid 7%
growth in ad sales. “Being
able to outpace the market
was a big deal for us,” he
says.
Biggest Challenge Selling
to Latin America: “Dealing
with the different markets.
Each market has its own
dynamics and complexities.”
Biggest Challenge Advertising to U.S. Hispanic
Market: “The same one
everyone is facing…getting advertisers to see the
value that pay TV offers vs.
broadcast.”
Best Non-Cable Sales
Campaign:“Despicable Me
and the GEICO Caveman.”
Maryam Banikarim
SVP, Integrated Sales
Marketing, NBC Universal
Behind every great women and
lifestyles initiative is, apparently, a great woman. Banikarim
oversees NBCU’s Women at
NBCU, Green is Universal and
Healthy at NBCU, among other
cross-platform initiatives. She
also manages enterprise marketing sales for the company,
identifying targeted advertising
opportunities across platforms.
September 2010
Thanda Belker
EVP, Pay Television
Sony Pictures Television
As business continues to
swirl around VOD, Belker
is the point person for
Sony’s pay TV business
as well as the company’s
residential and hotel-based
PPV and VOD businesses.
She structures, negotiates
and executes deals with
Minorities in Cable
by Cathy Applefeld Olson and Steve Donohue
cable operators around the
country, sharpening her keen
negotiating skills with each
stop along the way.
Payne Brown
VP, Strategic Initiatives
Comcast
As a key liaison for Comcast in
the African-American community, Brown is a leader in the
development and implementation of the company’s national
diversity strategy. Programming content, public affairs
and community investment
initiatives all fall under his
domain, as do managing strategic relationships with various
industries; federal, state and
local government institutions;
and special-interest groups.
Louis Carr
Merah Chung
Rosalind Clay Carter
President, Media Sales
BET
Carr is responsible for 60%
of BET’s total revenue,
including the company’s
flagship network, BET J,
and BET.com. During the
economic downturn, “we
had to reposition ourselves
as a brand that could help
marketers not only hold but
also grow market share,”
he says. Carr also runs a
real estate company that
redevelops inner-city neighborhoods in Chicago and a
foundation that provides paid
internships for students of
color at leading media and
marketing companies.
Advice for Someone Trying
to Break into Cable: “Be
prepared to get your hustle
on. In today’s marketplace,
you not only have to be smart
but also work smart. We call it
expanding your capacity.”
VP, Development/New
Series, The Style Network
The woman who put Jerseylicious into the popular lexicon
certainly gets our vote. The
success of its premiere season
ushered in 20 new episodes
for season two, and Chung is
now knee-deep in development of a docu-series featuring former Spice Girl Mel B.
On Working with Mel: “She
and her family have so much
fun together, it’s infectious.”
Style Tip: “Heat your eyelash
curler with your blowdryer before curling your eyelashes and
they will stay curled all day. Just
be careful it’s not too hot. I’ve
had friends make that mistake!”
SVP, Human Resources
A&E Television Networks
Talk about a growing family. Carter is overseeing the
integration of AETN and Lifetime
Entertainment, which increased
the size of the company by
one-third. As HR head for the
combined company, she leads
staffing and benefit integrations
and is also helping to shape the
newly forming company culture.
SVP/Gen Counsel, GMC
“The Butler did it” is a common refrain around GMC when
it comes to deal-making, a
fitting tribute to this most efficient executive who recently
structured, drafted, negotiated
and signed a deal for a concert
TV special in 36 hours. His
thoughts on the mayhem? “It
was actually kind of fun.”
Best Business Book Read:
Everything But The Coffee
Table: Learning About
America From Starbucks,
by Bryant Simon. “The book
was a good commentary, not
about the business itself, but
more about what Starbucks
says about our culture,
identity and community.”
Sherita Ceasar
VP, Product Engineering,
Cross Platform Applications and Engineering
Analysis, Comcast
The design, implementation
and deployment of Comcast’s
cross-platform applications fall
under Ceasar’s purview. She
reviews and evaluates security
requirements for PE video,
data, voice and cross-platform
products supporting Comcast
markets, ensuring the MSO’s
products are efficient and
secure.
A.B. Cruz
Craig Collins
Lisa Clark
Paul Butler
VP, Consumer Marketing
& Media Strategy
National Geographic
Channel
Credit Clark with helping steer
the successful launch of Nat
Geo Wild this year. She also
helmed strategies that have
incited consistent ratings
growth for Nat Geo, including
C3 ideas that have driven the
network to one of the highest
indexes among fully distributed
non-fiction networks.
Best Non-Cable Marketing
Campaign: “The Kia Soul Hamsters campaign. The combination
of Black Sheep’s The Choice
is Yours and the unique use of
rodents got my attention.”
Best Social Media Tool for
Business: Twitter and Facebook.
September 2010
primary marketing liaison to
national cable distributors and
as such spearheaded integral
initiatives during the Fox-Time
Warner retrans negotiations.
Biggest Accomplishment
of 2010: “As a team, our
ability to simultaneously grow
and market our core sports
and entertainment networks,
launch new products and
brand extensions, and invest
in new technologies and
business models has been the
cornerstone of our success.”
SVP, Sales and
Marketing, Time Warner
Cable Business Class
It’s not business as usual for
Collins, who manages a team of
1,000 employees. Business Class
is the operator’s fastest-growing
revenue generator, and under his
leadership TWCBC reported 19%
year-over-year growth in the first
quarter of 2010 and is on track
to become a $1 billion business.
Collins now oversees a customer
segmentation project that will
result in smarter marketing and
customer service.
Chief Legal Officer/ Corporate Secretary, Scripps
Networks Interactive
A mainstay on Capitol Hill
working with advocacy groups
like MAP, Cruz helps steer
SNI’s internal dealmaking,
including the recent addition of
Travel Channel.
Best Business Book: The Next
100 Years: A Forecast for the
21st Century, by George Friedman. “A fascinating look into and
forecasts about our world over
the next century.”
On the Travel Channel
Acquisition: “Amazingly quick
and smooth for a deal of that
size… and completed before
the end-of-year holidays hit.
Thank goodness!”
Michael Cooper
VP, Affiliate Marketing
and Ad Sales
Fox Networks
One of cable’s classiest, the
Court TV alum serves as the
Parthavi Das
SVP, Strategy and
Initiatives, WICT
Thirteen-year WICT staffer Das
effortlessly moved into the role of
cablefaxmag.com
25
More of the Most Influential Minorities in Cable
interim WICT President between
Benita Fitzgerald Mosley’s departure and Maria Brennan’s hiring.
She’s been instrumental in helping WICT’s leadership formalize
its new strategic plan aimed at
taking it through its next growth
phase. Das has also created a
legacy through her leadership of
WICT’s PAR initiative.
network that is not owned by a
major media conglomerate isn’t
easy these days, but Dorsey’s
tenacity paid off big-time this
year when she sealed deals
with both Comcast and Time
Warner in California. The woman
responsible for 70% of Africa
Channel’s U.S. distribution is
also a consummate mentor.
Best Part Of Mentoring:
“Providing professional
access for people seeking
employment in the telecommunications industry.”
marketing projects, including
TNT’s The Closer and TBS’
Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.
This year she oversaw the
social network campaign
that launched Cartoon’s new
Adventure Time series and the
extremely, ahem… cool Adult
Swim branded ice cream truck
at Comic-Con. “Adult Swim
has a long-standing love affair
with the fans of Comic-Con,”
she says.
Tool For Business: LinkedIn.
conversation drives engagement, and the social media
tools available to curate,
measure and drive that buzz
are invaluable,” she says.
Meal You’d Most Like to
Cook on Top Chef: “Thomas
Keller’s Cauliflower Panna
Cotta. It would make for good
entertainment and drama.”
because I’m a points hog and
hoard them for vacations!”
Favorite Food: “Anything that
goes with red wine.”
Vicki Hamilton
Marty Dominguez
Ishmel Goodrum
VP, Marketing, C-SPAN
Even after 22 years, nobody
has more passion for the
good work C-SPAN does than
Dominguez, whose marketing
title represents just a fraction
of what she does. Among other
things, the Tulane MBA leads
C-SPAN’s social media charge
along with overseeing those
iconic C-SPAN school buses.
Favorite C-SPAN Moment:
“Certainly there are many, but
if I had to pick just one, I think it
was being in charge of C-SPAN’s
25th Anniversary and bringing
together more than 1,000
current and former C-SPAN
staffers for a big celebration
just over 6 years ago. I’ve occasionally heard people say that
co-workers are like family, but at
C-SPAN that’s really true. We’re
co-workers, friends, family and
lifelong believers in C-SPAN’s
mission. So this big celebration was really quite the family
reunion and a very special thing
to be a part of.”
VP, Network Operations
Network reliability and
redundancy are top of mind
for Goodrum, who this year
established a centralized support team and infrastructure to
manage digital video services
from the Insight NOC.
Biggest Challenge To
Digital Transition: Raising the expectations of and
building stronger processes
with broadcasters and cable
providers that deliver a signal
to Insight. Also, “working with
video processing equipment
managers to deliver a consistent customer experience.”
Rosalyn Durant
Barbara Gee
VP, ESPNU
Under Durant’s direction, ESPNU
has become one of the fastestgrowing networks, catapulting
from 22mln households to
70mln in just 15 months. Known
for her upbeat personality
and radiant smile, Durant sets
the strategic direction for the
24-hour college sports network,
including all programming and
multimedia decisions. She was
also a key player in securing
ESPN’s contract extension with
the NBA and has served as
point person for ESPN’s Olympic
sports, lacrosse and soccer
programming.
VP, Strategic Sales
Alliances, Comcast
Third-party sales partnerships
are a cornerstone of Comcast’s
growing business, and Gee
is a formidable force when
it comes to the breadth and
depth of her experience in this
arena. Her team drives sales
and retains the customer base
by negotiating innovative deals
with third parties. Best of all,
she shares her knowledge and
business acumen with others
through mentoring programs.
Cheryl Dorsey
VP, Distribution & Marketing, The Africa Channel
Securing bandwidth for a new
26
Roger Henry
Berto Guzman
Mari Ghuneim
Vicky Free
VP, 360 Consumer Marketing, Turner Broadcasting’s Animation, Young
Adults & Kids Media
Aside from overseeing
multiplatform campaigns
for Cartoon Network, Adult
Swim and Boomerang, Free
is integral in other Turner
cablefaxmag.com
SVP, Digital Operations
and Performance, Turner
Broadcasting System
Hamilton has been busy
enhancing the external Web
sites in Turner’s sports,
entertainment and news divisions to increase visibility “and
ultimately drive revenue.”
Best Way For Cable Execs
To Keep Up With Technology: Read magazines that
take a business approach to
technology. “Equally important is to talk to the technology professionals within your
company. They can make the
connection relevant to your
business.”
VP, Online Media
Bravo Media
Under Ghuneim’s direction,
Bravotv.com and TelevisionWithoutPity.com are having
their best years. She notched
more than 23 partnerships for
Bravo’s Web and broadband
initiatives, including highprofile pacts for Top Chef with
Cookstr.com and Chow.com.
“For Bravo Digital, watercooler
VP, Affiliate Sales, Si TV
Guzman and his team
sustained a steady rate of
distribution throughout key
markets this year, despite the
challenges for an independent
network by “passionately
spreading our unique perspective of this market segment.”
Best Business Hotel: “I’m
a Marriott loyalist because
I like the free upgrades and
concierge access. But mostly
September 2010
VP, Programming and
Development
Investigation Discovery
and Military Channel
Henry wrapped his tenure at
Discovery’s Science Channel
last year with strong performances for series Mantracker
and Sci-Fi Science and sealed
a new deal with BBC’s
Wonders of the Solar System
for Investigation Discovery. ID
is launching “dozens” of new
series in 2010 under Henry’s
purview, and he continues to
oversee longtime hits including
How It’s Made.
Favorite How It’s Made
Item: Aluminum Foil.
Biggest Challenge in Creating
Fresh Programming: “Keep in
mind your audience’s taste and
tolerance. I’ve seen so many
good executives lose their way
by fusing personal interests
with the audience’s interests.”
completely pleasantly surprised
by the Westin Times Square on
a recent trip to NYC.”
Destination You’d Most Like
To Visit: Bali. “I canceled
a trip there last December
because our acquisition closed
that month. I will be going on
a yoga retreat there before
year-end.”
Rhonda Holt
SVP, Digital Media
Technologies and Media
Asset Management
Turner Broadcasting
System
Holt oversaw the successful
redesign of CNN.com, one
of 25 major site redesigns
she has tackled in the past
year, including NASCAR.com
and PGAtour.com—all while
continuing her work to mentor
the next generation of minority
technologists.
Best Part About Mentoring: “Watching others grow.
It’s personally rewarding to
help others avoid some of the
challenges I may have run
into over the course of my
career, leveraging my career
learning.”
Kathy Johnson
President, NAMIC
As NAMIC matures into its
30th year, Johnson’s contribution to the association’s
success grows. Under her
direction, NAMIC is expanding its leadership seminars,
mentoring programs and
Webinars, as well as offering
all-inclusive programs to
companies. As a result of
proven initiatives she oversees, the industry’s pipeline
of diverse talent continues
to expand with the goal of
“growing our membership
and donor base, expanding
the reach of our educational
programs and ensuring that
our members are poised for
leadership roles,” she says.
Cuisine of Choice: Cuban.
Favorite Drink: Mojito.
at this year’s NAMIC Emerging
Leaders breakfast for her
stellar track record of creating
brand definitional, highly
rated original programming.
Biggest Business Accomplishments of the
Year: “Negotiating broadcast
deals with two powerhouses,
Trump Entertainment and
Essence Communications.
Both ventures have produced
originals that performed well
on our network and meet our
programming vision.”
Biggest Challenge Developing Original Programming:
“Balancing the creative and
the financial while competing
with networks that have
more resources. I advise my
team and producers to think
big and then we scale back
as needed.
The biggest challenge to
sustaining original programming today is staying topical
and relevant with current programming, yet being visionary
with those in development.”
Favorite Show Not on TV
One: True Blood. “Minorities
are created and presented
with depth and complexity.
Need I say more?”
Superna Kalle
Linette Hwu
VP, Legal Affairs
Travel Channel,
Scripps Networks
Talk about a jet-setter. Hwu
oversees Travel Channel program negotiations, talent, video
distribution and international
syndication. As a follow-up to
her work on the network’s acquisition in 2009, she co-chaired
Travel’s integration process into
the Scripps family.
Best Business Hotel: “I was
Toni Judkins
SVP, Original
Programming, TV One
In fewer than two years at TV
One, Judkins has overseen
a series of hits including Unsung, Life After, LisaRaye: The
Real McCoy and Donald J.
Trump Presents The Ultimate
Merger. She was an honoree
SVP, Networks
Sony Pictures Television
Kalle has Sony’s hotly
anticipated 3D channel
covered. She’s spent the past
year gearing up for the Oct. 1
launch, as well as overseeing
the company’s interests in
GSN and FEARnet. She also
sits on the board of directors
for MSM Singapore, MSM
India and MSM Discovery,
Sony’s distribution platform
in India, where the company
will soon add a sixth local
language channel.
September 2010
Michelle Kim
Group VP and Chief
Counsel, Programming,
Time Warner Cable
Kim has the immense responsibility for all legal matters related
to programming across Time
Warner’s distribution platforms.
As such, she plays a key role in
negotiating and drafting carriage
and distribution arrangements
with cable networks, broadcast
stations and other content
providers, advising senior management in the development of
strategic initiatives that intersect
with programming.
Lee knows a thing or two
about storytelling. TLC’s
record ratings in 2009-10
can be attributed in part
to the programming Lee is
shepherding, including Cake
Boss, Toddlers & Tiaras and
The Little Couple. His work
growing new genres for
the network led to recent
successes for Four Weddings
and BBQ Pitmasters. He’s
also tasked with nurturing
established series, including
the high-profile final season
of Jon & Kate Plus 8.
Bam Liem
Jerry Lambert
VP, Associate General
Council, Bresnan
Communications
Integral in the deployment of
advanced services, Lambert
has been ensuring compliance
in the federal, state and local
regulatory field as Bresnan
rolls out voice services.
Tip for Successful Negotiations: “Know the desired result;
always negotiate with tenacity,
tempered by flexibility and characterized by good faith.”
Favorite Food and Drink:
“Thai, hot enough to make me
cry; Maker’s Mark with two
cubes of ice.”
VP, Advanced
Network Engineering
If you’re an Insight customer
enjoying the company’s Voice
Mail Express, you can thank
Liem. He and his team not only
worked the tech magic that this
year enabled phone customers
to send voice mail messages
to two designated email addresses, but he also oversaw
the architecture, design and
development of Insight’s HSD
and other phone products.
Best Business Hotel: “The
Hyatt in Nusa Dua, Bali,
Indonesia.”
Favorite Food: “Sushi.”
Carla Lewis-Long
Howard Lee
VP, Production &
Development, TLC
VP, Distribution, Si TV
One of cable’s most elegant,
Lewis-Long has been educating MSOs about the importance of the English-speaking
Latino audience during her
first year at Si TV. Working with
cablefaxmag.com
27
More of the Most Influential Minorities in Cable
a limited marketing budget
has made things interesting, but the veteran cable
exec is up to the task. “That
forces us to be creative in our
partnerships with operators,”
she says.
Tool for Business: Twitter.
“You can talk to your viewers
directly. It’s also a great tool to
connect with people who may
not be receiving Si TV.”
World and a nationwide mobile
health tour with the Red Cross
and Verizon in conjunction with
TNT’s HawthorRNe.
Favorite Recent NonCable Marketing Campaign:
“American Ballet Theater’s
digital initiatives, which aimed
to engage and retain ballet patrons in challenging economic
times.”
Corps, which targeted 1 million
volunteers in five years.
Best Non-Cable Marketing Campaign: “Toyota’s
Sierra Minivan. The television
commercials are hilarious,
and on the viral front, the Web
videos featuring the ‘parents’
performing the branded rap
song is creatively written and
well executed.”
Favorite Food: “I’ve had this
confectionery battle with my
taste buds for years—Turtles
vs. Snickers.”
Ariela Nerubay
Terri Moore
Director, Diversity &
Inclusion
Time Warner Cable
Moore leads TWC’s Diversity
& Inclusion Council, which
focuses on mentoring,
employee networks, disability
awareness, leadership development, supplier diversity and
communications. She regularly participates in business
workshops and is currently a
workshop leader for Monster.
com’s Diversity Leadership
Programs.
SVP, Sales & Marketing
TuTv
Known for her creativity,
Nerubay continues to implement effective marketing
initiatives, many resulting in
double-digit subscriber growth
for TuTv’s affiliates. Strong
results continued through
the economic challenges of
the past few years, earning
Nerubay several marketing
awards from NAMIC.
Favorite Non-Cable Marketing Campaign: “Old Spice
Guy. The use of social media
to generate buzz is brilliant. I
love the Facebook exclusive
content where the Old Spice
Guy actually responds to fans’
comments via posted videos.”
Monica Neal
VP, Emerging Markets
and Partnerships, TNT,
TBS and Turner Classic
Movies, Turner Broadcasting System
Neal developed the Twitterboard, which featured tweets
from fans in real time on an
LED billboard in Times Square
in support of the launch of
TBS’ Lopez Tonight. She
oversaw high-profile initiatives
this year including TBS’ first
partnership with Walt Disney
28
William Ortiz
VP, Corporate Marketing
Communications
Time Warner Cable
Marketing whiz Ortiz has
segued from focusing on
the multicultural audience to
helping lead TWC’s campaign
in the general market. Ortiz
has been heavily focusing on
the company’s new marketing
campaign, set to debut in the
fall that will “leverage our
brand essence and increase
our relevance to consumers.”
Favorite Non-Cable Marketing
Campaign: Apple iPod. “They’ve
mastered the art of selling
without making the consumer
feel as if they’re being sold. I
also greatly admire their product
evolution and innovation. It’s
firmly rooted in delivering on
consumer needs and desires.
Their success has shown that
this is truly a winning strategy.”
Rebecca Nowlin
Director, Trade Marketing, Outdoor Channel
Nowlin’s busy year included
redesigning Outdoor’s affiliate
Web site, launching multiple
local campaigns, managing the
network’s participation in 10
national trade shows and maintaining conservation volunteer
program Outdoor Channel
cablefaxmag.com
Marie Perez-Brown
SVP, Programming &
Development, Si TV
Perez-Brown notched deals
with Twentieth Television
for Prison Break and Sony
Classics for a series of
Latino-themed films that
are the cornerstone of Si
TV’s new movie block. She’s
the author of Mama: Latina
Daughters Celebrate Their
Mothers (HarperCollins). In
her “spare” time, she’s an
adjunct professor at Columbia University. Favorite Travel Destination: “El Conquistador Hotel
in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. No
matter how many times I
visit, I find a peaceful retreat
in this corner of the world. I
liked it so much I got married
there!”
Favorite Food: “Sweet Potato Fries. I know. It’s wrong.
But they provide comfort in
times of stress.”
Biggest Challenge
Negotiating with Cable
Operators: “The different
regions sometimes have different goals from their local
systems.”
Bret Perkins
Sr Director, Public Policy
Comcast Corp
The winner of a Young
Leadership Vanguard, Perkins
is regarded as a rising star
at Comcast corporate, having
come over last year from
Comcast Cable. On the cable
side since ’01 he helped
manage the growth of the
government affairs function
when it went from 22 states
and 2,500 communities to 39
states and 6K communities.
Currently, he fashions Philadelphia’s public policy agenda
in national communications
and technology policy.
Anna Peries
Manager, Sales &
Affiliate Marketing
Playboy TV
Charged with seeking out
and pursuing carriage
opportunities for Playboy’s
programming across all
brands, Peries is known
for her intrepid negotiating skills. But perhaps her
most unusual skill is in the
area of animal rescue. She
recently rescued a family of
ducklings lost in the parking
lot outside Playboy’s offices.
After corralling them into
a box, she called animal
control and waited by them
until a professional rescue
worker arrived. “I went
to my supervisor and told
her I’d be working with my
laptop and cell phone in the
parking lot,” Peries says.
“Kudos to her. She didn’t
even blink!”
September 2010
Ron Phillips
SVP, Employee
Engagement, Comcast
Comcast’s former VP of Human Resources was named
to this newly created post
in the spring. On Oct. 1, he
moves to Comcast’s corporate
headquarters in Philly to begin
his new post. Overseeing
employee relations, labor
relations, compliance and
employee loyalty now falls
under his purview. He’s
known among his peers as being passionate about his fellow
employees. Phillips is equally
passionate about the role of
human resources in solving
business issues.
project gives you a rewarding
feeling. Even greater is to see
a mentee become a mentor
and pass on the knowledge,
experience and coaching to
someone else.”
to the first-ever TV-game cross
venture, THQ for Red Faction
and De Blob. In addition, he’s
the architect behind the Syfy
Kids brand.
tion are good, what’s on the
plate or from the bar is just
additive. (When it’s not so
good, a nice glass of Kistler
Chardonnay or Flowers Pinot
works).”
Michael Quigley
Denmark West
VP, Business Development & Multiplatform
Distribution, Turner
Broadcasting System
If Quigley seemed omnipresent this year, it’s because
he helmed the commercial
deployment of TV Everywhere
across multiple Turner network
Web sites. “I’m eager to see
what the rest of the year will
bring in terms of progress with
additional distributors and
other programmers,” he says.
Interactive TV – Myth or
Reality? “Part myth and part
reality. It’s reality that viewers
want more information during
their TV viewing experience…
The myth of iTV is that not all
interactive TV will make good
TV. Programmers need to be
smart about how they are
introducing iTV.”
Pres, Digital Media, BET
West leads BET’s portfolio of digital brands, including BET.com,
BET Mobile, BET on Demand and
BET’s digital download offerings.
This year, he oversaw the relaunch of the company’s mobile
site and helped drive significant
improvement in integration with
advertising, programming and
other BET Networks divisions,
including BET’s first original web
series, Buppies.
Keys to Keeping a Web Site
Relevant: “Both the content
offering, including ties to programming, and the refresh rate,
are keys to our relevance. Other
keys include: user participation/
interactive tools, integrating user
perspective and creativity, as well
as providing a clear and easy
path to social engagement.”
Guillermo Sierra
Neal Scarbrough
VP, Digital Media
VERSUS
The Scarbrough-led January
relaunch of VERSUS.com with
full HD and increased editorial
content led to a 20%-plus
spike in traffic. Up too, by
33%, was users’ time on the
site vs. the previous year. And
the network’s Tour de France
iPhone app became one of the
highest-grossing apps and
the top sports apps on iTunes
during the race. Scarbrough
earned a spot on our Digital
Hot List in 2009.
Favorite Spectator Sport:
“Lacrosse and college football
national championships.”
Favorite non-VERSUS iPhone
app: Pandora. “It’s like my
iPod, but with playlists that are
full of surprises.”
Paul T. Robinson
VP, Sales
Time Warner Cable
The veteran telecom industry
executive has been focusing
on driving Time Warner Cable’s
Business Class service. He
has strategically built a sales
organization reaching out to
customers large and small
throughout the west, garnering
top internal honors in 2008
and 2009.
Best Part About Mentoring?
“To see the mentee grow and
learn from your guidance.
Too see the achievement and
sense of accomplishment
from a mentee because they
earned a promotion, or closed
a big win, or completed a
Alan Seiffert
SVP, Syfy Ventures
SyFy
In just a year at the network,
Seiffert has broadened Syfy’s
brand by spearheading its
strong growth in the gaming
and kids spaces. Focusing
on bridging videogames,
books and digital experiences grounded in a cable
network, Seiffert has launched
numerous groundbreaking
initiatives ranging from TRION
SVP, V-me Media
Sierra has built V-me into the
fourth largest Spanish-language
network in three years. As the
company’s chief strategist, he
creates engaging programming
for the growing U.S. Hispanic
market, and makes deals with
a vast roster of global content
partners, on-camera talent, affiliates and distribution partners.
A seasoned negotiator, he also
recently was instrumental in
securing V-me’s second round
of financing from Spain’s PRISA.
Kent Takano
Executive Producer,
Branded Entertainment
DIY Network
Though Takano doesn’t do it
entirely himself, he is the executive who oversees the look
and feel of the DIY brand. He
makes daily decisions about
which companies the network
partners with for shows ranging from ground-breaking Blog
Cabin to its extensive roster of
home improvement and landscaping programs, including
TurfWar and America’s Most
Desperate Landscape.
Marva Smalls
EVP of Public Affairs and
Chief of Staff, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, TV Land
and Noggin
Smalls has a knack for keeping the issues most important
to Nick viewers top of mind
and well-represented on-air,
this year through pro-social
campaigns like The Big Help,
Halo Awards and Beyond the
Backpack.
Best Way to Stay Ahead of
the Curve: “Research. Research. Research! We’ve been
in dialog with our audience
since day one.”
Favorite non-Nick Show:
“Mad Men” and “The Good
Wife.”
Favorite Food/Drink: “When
the company and conversa-
September 2010
Alicin Williamson
Keno Thomas
SVP, Affiliate Sales
Starz Entertainment
Though Thomas focuses
most closely on Starz’s DBS
and telco account, he’s well
known in cable circles too.
One of cable’s finest sales execs, Thomas has spent more
than 25 years in the business
with companies like Times
Mirror Cable and ESPN. All
that experience is paying dividends for Starz, as Thomas
helped engineer a multi-year
pact with FiOS that extended
the network’s deal with the
telco, bringing its hit movies
to Verizon’s Internet subs
via the Starz Play broadband
video download service.
SVP, Corporate Responsibility & Public Affairs
MTV Networks
A tireless proponent of melding
private and public interests
to help underserved communities—especially youth—
Williamson continues to work
her magic at MTV Networks.
The former NAMIC chair works
to integrate corporate social responsibility throughout the MTV
family, and communicate the
company’s messages through
a variety of cross-platform
campaigns, including perennial
high-profile Rock The Vote and
recent A Thin Line campaign,
which empowered youth to
become more knowledgeable
about digital abuse.
cablefaxmag.com
29
2010 Most Influential
Maria Arias
Phyllis Batson
VP/GM, Southern Colorado Region, Comcast
A native of Mexico, Arias has
a background in law and
was hired by Comcast as VP
of Operations. She manages
275 employees serving 131K
subs. Arias was selected as a
fellow for WICT’s Betsy Magness Executive Leadership
Class and won the Rocky
Mountain WICT Chapter
Woman to Watch award.
VP, Customer Care,
Greater Chicago
Region, Comcast
Batson has more than 30
years experience in customer
service, including posts at
Sears, Northwest Airlines and
Cablevision. She now runs
five call centers for Comcast.
Best Books: Call Center
Management on Fast Forward
by Brad Cleveland and The
Speed of Trust by Stephen
Covey.
Best Social Media Tool:
“LinkedIn gives you an exponential look at networking—
sometimes in ways you can’t
imagine. Plus, today people
rarely stay in one role or with
one company for their career.”
Favorite Destination: “Italy.
I’ve been there 14 times. My
goal is to hit every region.”
Wally Bakare
VP, Operations,
Mid-Ohio Division
Time Warner Cable
Through July, Bakare had
helped reduce the number
of service call visits by
25% compared to the same
period last year. “My biggest
challenge is discovering new
ways to motivate the 900
employees under my direction to provide each customer they interact with the
best possible experience,”
he says. “To accomplish this,
we’ve placed a keen focus
on addressing employee
concerns. We believe that
satisfied employees will lead
to satisfied customers.”
Favorite Destination:
“Montreal, Canada. This
has become an annual destination for me during the
International Jazz Festival.
Montreal has the look and
feel of Western European
cities without having to
cross the Atlantic.”
Favorite Cuisine: “Seafood.”
30
Paul Biava
VP of Operations, Central New Jersey
Comcast
Two of the Central NJ areas
Biava oversees achieved the
best and fifth-best improvement in Comcast’s Think
Customer First rankings for all
systems nationwide. “Nothing
measures how well we are
doing with our customers
more than this metric and it’s
the proudest accomplishment
we have,” Biava says.
Best Hotel for Business:
“Hampton Inn.”
Favorite Destinations:
“Colombia. I was born in
Medellin. My other favorite
cablefaxmag.com
is Cartagena, a city by the
Caribbean that has both an
old city, built in the 1700s,
and a beach that’s full of
excitement. It’s also where I
told my future wife that we
were going to be married, so
it’s a special place!”
“While there is a lot of room
to grow, we have made great
strides over the last year as
a business,” he says. “It’s a
marathon not a sprint.”
Favorite Travel Destination:
“Maui, the beach, the weather
and the golf.”
Favorite Food: “Filet medium; baked potato with butter and chives, broccoli and
bread pudding for dessert.”
best beach locations paired
with one of the world’s best
golf courses.”
Execution by Larry Bossidy
& Ram Charan. “The book
speaks clearly to resultsdriven professionals.”
Favorite Food: “Grilled teriyaki salmon. No better taste
on Earth!”
Todd F. Brown
VP, Western Division
Comcast Networks
Brown’s team has surpassed
goals each year since he
joined Comcast in 2006. His
biggest challenge is “traveling across the country to
connect with MSO GMs and
VPs of marketing,” he says.
“Logging miles and being a
brand energizer weekly takes
stamina.”
“Alaska. I had the privilege of
visiting the GCI fishing cabin
that now unfortunately is in
the news due to the death
of Sen. Ted Stevens and
others. It’s one of the most
beautiful places on the planet.
The fishing and connection
with nature are unbelievably
breathtaking.”
Dianne Earley
Marsha Conaway
Regional VP, Midwest
Time Warner Cable
Conaway is responsible for
directing the HR function
for nearly 10K employees
encompassing the regional
office and five divisions. She
leads the region’s mentoring
program, serves on Time
Warner Cable’s Diversity
Committee, is treasurer of
NAMIC’s board and is board
member of the NAMIC
Foundation.
G. Wayne Davis
Craig Collins
SVP, Commercial Sales
and Marketing
Time Warner Cable
Collins and his team of 2,500
Business Class employees
drove a 7% increase in video,
11% uptick in data and a
100% rise in voice revenue
for Time Warner Cable’s commercial services during Q1.
VP, HR, Comcast
California Region
A 23-year human resources
veteran, Davis is responsible
for more than 7K employees.
He also negotiates labor
agreements and deals with
vendors and suppliers. He
says his biggest challenge is
“finding and placing the most
talented professionals into
key positions.”
Favorite Destinations:
“Maui, Hawaii, Kapalua
Beach. One of the world’s
September 2010
VP, Media Sales
Cox Media
Earley has revamped Cox
Media’s ad-sales operations.
“Our organization has undergone significant transformation over the past two years in
an effort to create efficiencies and take advantage of
economies of scale,” says Cox
Manager of Marketing and
Research Patrick Castro. “She
has managed the centralization, standardization and
optimization changes with
great transparency, providing
effective and responsible
leadership throughout these
times of change.”
in Last Year: “Merged two
strong, diverse organizations, located in two unique
geographic markets into one
high performing team.”
Nemacolin Woodlands Spa
in Southwestern Pennsylvania. “It represents total
physical, mental and spiritual
relaxation, and sometimes I
need that.”
Favorite Book: The Heart of
Change by John P. Kotter. “It
is a source of relatable, reallife stories about how people
(not processes) facilitate
change in organizations.”
Minorities in Cable: Regional Executives
By Steve Donohue
“The back country of Idaho.”
Favorite Food: “French fries.
I’m addicted to them.”
Board of Visitors for Florida
A&M’s school of journalism, is
an adjunct lecturer at Drexel
and is a double threat on
drums and saxophone.
Henry Ford
Steve Gillenwater
SVP/GM, Fox Sports
Ohio
The sole African-American to
head an RSN for Fox, Ford led
Fox Sports Ohio to its top NBA
season ratings in ’08-09 and
’09-10.
in ’10: “Finding time to be a
mentor, impart my experiences and perspectives to
help someone navigate and
subsequently advance their
career.”
“Good to Great by Jim Collins,
which focuses on leadership.”
“San Francisco. My adopted
second home after my hometown of NY. So many special
friends, and the Bay Area is
such a beautiful place to live
and visit.”
Cool: NCTA vet Pam Ford is
Henry’s proud sister.
President, HR, Southern
Division, Comcast
An 18-year cable human resources veteran, Gillenwater
is responsible for more than
20K employees serving nearly
6mln subs in 12 states.
Biggest Challenge: “To reset
the performance standards of
an established group. This is
about rejuvenation and refocus of a collection of talented
individuals and transforming them into an engaged,
thoughtful and strong leadership team responsible for the
company’s most important
asset—our human capital.”
“Kona, Hawaii. Arriving on
the island for the first time
caused me to reflect on just
how far I had traveled both
literally and professionally from my upbringing in
Detroit.”
Ricky Frazier
VP of Customer Care,
Indianapolis Region
Comcast
Frazier has risen from Call Center Supervisor to VP of Customer
Care in his seven years at Comcast. “His motivating leadership
style and his dedication to
delivering a superior customer
experience were immediately
recognized, catapulting him
to a position that helps shape
customer service delivery for
the entire company,” a Comcast
exec says.
Johnnie Giles
Henry “Hank” Fore
Regional VP, Oregon
and SW Washington
Comcast
With a team of nearly 2,000
employees in Washington
and SW Washington, Fore
oversees one of Comcast’s
premiere markets. It’s consistently called on to test and
pilot products and services.
He’s a recent graduate of
NAMIC’s Executive Leadership
Development Program, where
he was chosen as class
speaker.
Good to Great.
Regional VP, Government Affairs, California
Region Comcast
Giles manages Comcast’s
governmental affairs in CA. His
advice for those trying to get
into cable: “Cable is a great
place to build a career but like
any professional endeavor, you
need to bring with you a passion for collaboration, a focus
on personal accountability, a
perspective that embraces
inclusion and a commitment to
doing the best job possible.”
“Hawaii. My family has deep
roots there and it always feels
like home when I land.”
Favorite Foods: “Musubi, Wing
Dings, Plate lunch, Lau Lau,
Kahlua Pork and yes, even Poi.”
Chuck Harris
VP, Engineering
Time Warner Cable
Harris led the expansion to
more than 100 HD channels on Time Warner Cable
systems nationwide and
oversees strategy and tactical
oversight for all engineering
functions. He’s tutored youth
through the company’s Time
to Read program, and helped
grow a golf tournament for
cancer survivors and their
families from 16 to more than
240 golfers.
“Currently it is to my Michigan
home to be with my family. I’ve
been on the road for a number
of years, and it’s wonderful to
be with old family and friends,
to relive good times and
develop new ones.”
Favorite Food: “Nothing is as
good as a piece of chocolate
caramel peanut butter pie to
finish off a nice meal.”
Princell Hair
SVP of News Operations
Comcast Sports Group
That blur you see in airports
might be Princell Hair, the
veteran journalist who’s
responsible for content
and talent decisions for 14
regional networks reaching
more than 50mln HHs in eight
of the top markets. Before
joining Comcast in 2008,
he ran CNN’s daily news
operations and coordinated
the local news coverage for
39 Viacom TV stations. While
his day job would be taxing
enough, he also serves on the
September 2010
experience,” he says. “The
changes implemented have
improved customer satisfaction and our cost structure,
which ultimately returns
shareholder value.”
The Key to Growing Subs:
“Offering attractive products
in a bundle, providing
great customer service and
intelligently adjusting to our
competitive landscape.”
Favorite Food: “Sushi. It
tastes great, is healthier for
you and I never leave feeling
I’ve over-indulged.”
Toni Holland
VP, HR, Wisconsin
Time Warner Cable
A 17-year veteran of Kraft,
Holland saw the light and
joined the cable industry
in 2008. “Toni is the glue
that holds TWC-Wisconsin
together,” says regional VP
Tom Adams. “She successfully led the local roll-out
of our values, the delicate
people side of regionalization
and fine-tuned our leadership
development process to reach
younger and more diverse
talent,” Adams adds. “She is a
gifted coach and savvy broker
of difficult conversations.”
Darrel Hegar
Regional VP, Operations, Time Warner Cable
Carolinas
Hegar manages operations
across four states with nearly
4,000 employees, and has
helped standardize customer
care operations. “Standardization helps us deliver a consistent, high-quality customer
Marge Jackson
VP of Marketing
West Division, Comcast
East Side, West Side. It makes
no difference to Jackson, who
led marketing strategy for
Comcast’s Eastern Division,
arguably the most competitive
cablefaxmag.com
31
Most Influential Minorities in Cable 2010: Regional Executives
location in cable. She relocated recently to California,
bringing her family with her.
“Winning During Turbulence
by Darrell Rigby.”
Best Social Media Tool:
“LinkedIn.”
Best Hotel: “Marriott. The
employees take a tremendous
amount of pride and ownership in their roles, which
ultimately translates into
superior customer service. I
have insight into this brand as
my son-in law is one of their
top leaders.”
“Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian’s Information Rules is a
must-have book for those in
the information industries.
While technology changes
constantly, the underlying
business economics have not
changed at all.”
Favorite Food: “Indian food,
for the unending choices and
stimulating tastes.”
customer expectations.”
Favorite Destination: Africa.
“A variety of cultures and environments along with plenty
of wildlife.”
Tool for Business: Twitter. “Immediate communication.”
Favorite Food: Italian. “Lots
of great flavors and pairings
with wine.”
the entertainment they love
anytime, anywhere,” he says.
“So I direct them to Fancast
Xfinity TV, where they can access content from their cable
subscription packages online
or on mobile devices at no
additional cost.”
Favorite Destination: “Italy,
because of its amazing food,
diversity of the regional cultures
and picturesque architecture
and landscape.”
Favorite Food: “My mom’s
green chile enchiladas.”
Rodrigo Lopez
Charlene Keys
Rich Jennings
VP of Fulfillment, Freedom Region, Comcast
Jennings’ territory includes the
Philadelphia area, giving him
the unique challenge of serving Comcast’s corporate team.
He leads 3,500 employees in
one of the most competitive
regions in the country. Jennings mentors young professionals through WICT and the
L. Patrick Mellon program.
Area VP, S. Carolina
Time Warner Cable
Keys helped the South Carolina
operation move from last to
second at Time Warner Cable for
Live Agent Service Level. She
coaches women and minorities
aspiring to advance and cosponsored an employee network
designed to assist women exploring technical and engineering aspects of the business.
Filemon Lopez
Ajit J. Joy
SVP, Strategy and Product
Development, Comcast
Joy’s team is launching
Comcast’s mobile application
for the iPhone platform. “The
latest generation of mobile
platforms offer a great way
to extend the value of homebased services to our customers,” Joy says. He also directs
development and product
roadmaps for Comcast Digital
Voice, SmartZone and other
key products.
32
Regional SVP, South
Florida Region, Comcast
When you’re among cable
folk, you need only say the
word “Filemon” and everyone
knows who you mean. The
always upbeat Lopez and his
team serve nearly 1mln subs.
He’s also a board member
of the Institute for Executive
Leadership on Diversity at
Rutgers University and the
recipient of many awards,
including Comcast’s President
Award and the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement
Salute to Excellence Award.
Challenge Ahead: “Managing multiple priorities and
cablefaxmag.com
Market VP, Mountain
Region, Comcast
Lopez leads 1,250 employees
in Utah and Arizona. In the last
year, his team delivered its best
results in a variety of operational, customer and financial
metrics and was nominated for
Comcast System of the Year.
Dana Point, CA. “Sun, fun,
relaxation, great food and
great friends.”
The First 90 Days by Michael
Watkins. “It’s a reminder that
we always have to look at what
we do with a different perspective, frequently reassessing
to ensure we don’t become
complacent or obsolete in a
very dynamic industry.”
Gary McCollum
VP, GM
Cox Communications, VA
Before becoming one of Cox’s
key regional officials, McCollum served eight years as an
intelligence officer in the Army.
The soft-spoken McCollum
also served with the Army
Rangers and currently is a
Major in the Reserves.
Biggest Challenge: “Getting
the right people in the right
jobs doing the right things,
all in a constantly changing
environment.”
What Got You Here, Won’t
Get You There by Marshall
Goldsmith & Mark Reiter. “It’s
a great reminder how we must
constantly grow and change if
we are to be successful.”
Comfort Food: “Anything
Italian!”
Ralph Martinez
VP, San Francisco Bay
Area, Comcast
Martinez oversees one of
cable’s most prominent
territories, keeping Silicon
Valley subs from cutting the
cord on cable. How does
he retain those tech-savvy
subs? “Comcast’s vision is to
provide our customers with
Charlon McIntosh
VP, Customer Care, Mile
High Region, Comcast
One of the industry’s leading customer care gurus,
September 2010
McIntosh oversees service for
1mln subs in Colorado and
New Mexico.
Fire Them Up by Carmine
Gallo. “This book reveals
simple yet profound secrets
for using one’s values and
vision to motivate, inspire
and influence people to
achieve success. I love the
stories from real-life heads of
business on how they fire-up
their employees and achieve
success by being inspiring
leaders. I truly believe that
the most effective leaders
are those who create a clear
vision for their organization
and use that vision to inspire
others to be successful.”
Favorite Travel Spot: “I love
the Caribbean. My parents
are from Trinidad and when I
travel to the islands I feel like
I get the opportunity to reconnect with the traditions and
culture of my ancestors.”
Best Business Hotel: “I like
the Hyatt Place. It’s always
a safe bet. Rooms are clean,
modern and large (they have
a separate sitting area).
Check-in and check-out is
convenient, and customer
service is always good.”
Zinah Mineyahl
VP, Customer Care
Comcast
An immigrant from Ethiopia,
Mineyahl started in cable
as a service technician. He
now runs customer care in
Comcast’s Houston region,
leading a team of 900
employees. Mineyahl implemented an improvement plan
that has the Houston call
center performing at a level
that has allowed it to curtail
the use of outside CSR firms.
“This has resulted in significant savings to the company,
improved service to our
customers and increased
sales,” says Comcast VP of
Government and Public Relations Ray Purser.
the stages of decline then
they can react quickly and
respond.”
Favorite Destination: Hawaii.
Favorite Food: “Sushi. Not
only is it healthy, but there is
a wide variety from which to
choose.”
the atmosphere and most
important, the customer service.
I left my kids’ diaper bag in
the hotel on one visit. Rather
than allow me to go back to
the hotel, Disney gave me a kit
with diapers, baby powder and
everything else we might need.
And it was free!”
Janet Parker
VP, HR
Time Warner Cable
Parker implemented multiple diversity and inclusion
councils across Time Warner
Cable with the goal of raising
awareness and supporting the
company’s focus on inclusion.
“My team provides business
strategies that will influence
employee engagement and
satisfaction,” she says.
Best Business Book: First,
Break All The Rules by Marcus
Buckingham & Curt Coffman.
“It didn’t approach business
principles from a provincial
perspective, but challenged
the reader to think broadly.”
Favorite Destination: “Paris,
because of the mixture of
cultures, the diversity of
architecture, history and
variety of experiences the
city offers.”
Steve Paulus
Regional VP/GM
Local News Division
Time Warner Cable
Paulus launched a 24-hour
news channel in New York’s
Hudson Valley in April, and has
been working to integrate news
channels in Austin and North
Carolina into the Local News
Division. “This has resulted in
increased sharing of content. An
example would be our From the
Floor segment at The New York
Stock Exchange,” he says. “We
are now providing hourly live
updates from the Exchange to
all of our news channels.”
Can Cable Become The
Dominant Local News Provider? “In the markets we have
established news channels, we
are already well on our way.”
Jacqui Vines
SVP/GM
Greater Louisiana, Cox
Vines faces competition from
three pay TV providers in
Louisiana, including a very
entrenched ILEC. “Keeping our
troops focused on taking their
customers and retaining ours
is challenging. But as a former
athlete, I know that when you
are on your A Game, no one can
stop you,” she says.
Tool: “Our system is committed to utilizing Facebook to
communicate with customers,
supplementing traditional media
efforts. Personally, I believe in
the power of picking up the
phone and having a sincere
conversation. It may be old
school, but the phone is still a
great business tool.”
Michael Parker
VP of Operations, Greater
Chicago Region Comcast
Comcast promoted Parker
from VP at its Connecticut
and New York division to run
operations in Chicago, which
counts 7K employees and
more than 2mln subs. Soon after his promotion, engineering
was added to his portfolio.
How The Mighty Fall by Jim
Collins. “This book teaches
leaders if they can understand
It has also reduced customer
disconnects/downgrades and
lowered inbound call volume
by 70%.
Favorite Destination: Pune,
India. “That is where most of
my extended family lives. Otherwise, it’s Disney World, where
everyone can be a kid.”
Favorite Cuisine: Japanese
food. “A typical Japanese steakhouse is a combination of great
food, ambience and festive
atmosphere.”
Steve Thomas
Area VP, City of Chicago
Greater Region, Comcast
Thomas oversees the largest
city where Comcast is the
incumbent operator. “I am
especially proud that we have
improved the productivity of our
technicians by 17% year over
year,” he says.
Favorite Destination: “My family and I have been to Disney
World eight times in the past
10 years. We love the energy,
Vineet Wadhwa
VP, Finance
Mid-Ohio Division
Time Warner Cable
Wadhwa led efforts to devise
a strategy to better manage customer bills when a
promotional campaign expired.
The strategy, which included a
multi-layered customer notification and education process,
has driven cash flow in 2010.
September 2010
White’s division drives about
$9bln in annual revenue as
it serves 6mln customers.
Most Recent
Accomplishment: “Being
entrusted to lead one of the
most important businesses
in Comcast’s portfolio...
It’s an amazing opportunity
to lead the West Division’s
20,000 employees.”
Best Business Book:
Winning by Jack Welch,
“because it offers practical
advice and practices from a
real world leader who took
GE to great heights.”
Favorite Destination: Maui,
Hawaii. “Consistently good
weather, down time and a
great opportunity to reconnect with my lovely wife.”
Emory Walton III
VP, Distribution,
Field Sales, West, AETN
Walton negotiates carriage
deals at the local and regional
levels for AETN’s portfolio of 10
networks.
Recent Accomplishments:
“Receiving an MBA and graduating with top honors while
still working full time. I also
have been a strong advocate
for leveraging AETN’s foreignlanguage portfolio, initiating a
new strategy to distribute the
content domestically.”
Favorite Travel
Destinations: “Puerto Rico
and the Caribbean Islands.
My family is there. I enjoy the
weather, the ocean, and the
ability to get away and relax
(no Blackberry reception).”
The Wisdom of Teams: Creating
the High-Performance Organization by Jon R. Katzenbach
and Douglas K. Smith.
Steve White
President, West Division
Comcast
Vin Zachariah
VP, Ops, NE Ohio
and Western PA
Time Warner Cable
Zachariah’s territory was
Time Warner Cable’s topranked system in customer
satisfaction in a recent
survey.
Biggest Challenge: “Creating a culture that makes all
900K-plus of our customers
and 2K-plus employees
feel like every interaction is
personal, that we care and
that it’s not just a part of a
big process.”
Best Hotel for Business:
“Anything with a good
workout room.”
Favorite Food: “Buffalo
wings. I went to school in
upstate NY, and I’ve spent
the last 20 years eating
them and cooking them. Our
own Iron Chef in Cleveland,
Michael Symon, has my
favorite recipe right now,
which includes Sriracha
sauce. Not for the fainthearted.”
cablefaxmag.com
33
Most Influential Minorities in Cable 2010: Regional Executives
African-American youth and
professionals at Comcast and
in the community. Akhiobare
is Treasurer of the Rocky
Mountain Chapter of WICT
and serves on the boards of
several associations.
Lisa Akhionbare
Vice President, Business
Operations, Mile High
Region Comcast
Akhiobare manages a
50-person team that handles
financial planning and analysis, supply-chain operations
for the 3K-employee system,
credit and collections for
1.1mln subs, payroll, security
and facilities. She also oversees budgeting of $724mln in
operating cash flow, $163mln
in capital spending and
$1.6bln in revenue. It’s said
that every decision made in
the cable operation has to
cross her desk for approval.
She finds time to mentor
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cablefaxmag.com
September 2010
ORdeR yOuR cOPy
www.cablefax.com/store/cfax
Top
Case sTudies
in Cable
MarkeTing & pr
This
one of a
kind book,
from the publisher of
CableFAX, exemplifies
how cable programmers,
operators and vendors cut
through the clutter to mount PR
and Marketing efforts that worked,
gained revenue, ratings points and
industry buzz. Each study demonstrates
some facet of ingenuity, innovation or
integrated thinking, illuminating communications
as a function that has matured with poise and
established its indispensability to business practices.
Order your copy and improve your power of PR today –
17994
Multi-Cultural Marketing at its Best
by Gerry Ford
Even in a sluggish economy, some things rise. From the looks of it, multi-cultural marketing is one of them.
NAMIC’S Excellence in Multi-cultural Marketing Awards, or the EMMAs, saw a 25% jump in submissions this year,
says Daphne Leroy, NAMIC’s VP of Marketing and Communications. The increase “is an exciting demonstration of
the commitment to minority marketing,” she says. The rise in entries is consistent with the continued development of
multi-cultural marketing at the MSOs, adds Cox’s Senior Marketing Manager Renata
Franco. Operators have learned that while the product offered “may be the same, the
benefits are seen differently” by ethnic communities. That means cable must “tell the
story differently when marketing to a multi-cultural audience,” Franco adds.
Also on the rise were EMMA entries from regional entities; grassroots and exponential marketing were up, too. And it wasn’t only quantity that increased; quality of
operator and programmer campaigns rose, too.
While many traditional EMMA powerhouses were victors again this year, there was
a healthy number of first-time winners. As is the tradition, all winners will be presented
with awards at a ceremony and panel discussion in NY on Tuesday, September 14, as
part of NAMIC’s 24th annual conference during Diversity Week.
Below are brief profiles of first-place winners and first-place ties. Secondand third-place winners and ties are listed.
CABLE COMPANIES
CASE STUDIES/CAMPAIGNS
—Lo Mejor On Demand, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable bolstered Hispanic On Demand awareness with a
campaign that included live events in Hispanic markets tied to new On
Demand content.
—timewarnercable.com/espanol Web Rebuild, TW Cable
Time Warner Cable touted the re-launch of its Spanish-language Website
by partnering with Telemundo and Univision on promotional events.
Second Place: (Tie)
—El Mix Launch Strategy, Cox Communications
—Celebrity Campaign, Cox Communications
Third Place: (Tie)
—TWCLA World Cup Campaign, Time Warner Cable LA
—A Capella Acquisition Campaign, Comcast
MARKETING TACTICS
ALL OTHER MEDIA
—Beauty Salon, Direct Response Triple Play, Cablevision
Cablevision’s spirited beauty salon campaign aimed at Hispanics was
designed to improve triple-play sales. TV spots featured young, vibrant
women in a beauty salon singing about the triple play’s benefits.
Second Place:
—Fun House, Direct Response Triple Play, Cablevision
DIGITAL
—timewarnercable.com/espanol Web Rebuild, Time Warner Cable
34
cablefaxmag.com
September 2010
This campaign tied for first place in the Case
Study/Campaign category (see above).
Second Place:
—Cox, tu amigo en la comunidad,
Cox Communications
a child speaking English to a Cox phone
agent and Spanish to a relative. It scored
well on consumer tests.
PRINT
Second Place:
—Filipino Package Launch Print
Ad, Time Warner Cable LA
This Time Warner Cable Los Angeles
campaign was a variation on its winner in
the Direct Mail category (see above). Its 68
percent recall rate was impressive.
—Chinese Market Infomercial,
Time Warner Cable
DIRECT MAIL
—GMA Pinoy and GMA Life Launch
Postcard, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner San Diego’s piece touted
GMA Pinoy and GMA Life channels with
art featuring their talent. Sales rose 55%
for Pinoy and 49% for GMA Life.
—Celebrity Campaign, Cox
Si TV talent Christian Vera appeared on
a mailer touting Cox Arizona’s Hispanic
products. A 16% lead increase resulted.
—Filipino Package Upgrade Direct Mail, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner LA touted the addition of
GMA Pinoy to its Filipino lineup with a
piece that listed Pinoy’s benefits. Sent in a
promotional envelope, the piece garnered
a 3.36 percent response rate.
Second Place: (Tie)
—El Mix, Cox Communications
—Cox lo hace fácil para conectar, Cox Communications
GRASSROOTS
—HD Outreach Program, Retail
Events, Time Warner Cable LA
Time Warner Cable joined Univision
and retailers Dearden’s and Best Buy to
promote HD, VOD and The World Cup at
events in Los Angeles. Emceed by Univision talent, the events were well attended
and rode The Word Cup’s momentum.
Third Place:
—Aug 09 Nuestra Tele Basico
Launch TV Campaign, TW Cable
Second Place:
NETWORKS/ INDUSTRY
SUPPLIERS
—South Asian Xfinity Q1 Campaign, Comcast
CASE STUDIES /CAMPAIGNS
RADIO
—Polish Gift with Purchase Campaign, Comcast
Comcast launched a two-month effort aimed
at Chicago’s Polish community with an ad
that offered a $20 MasterCard gift with a Polish Super Pack purchase. The spot improved
results by 39%, besting Comcast’s 15% goal.
TELEVISION
—HD Outreach Campaign, Media
Interviews, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable LA promoted HD
outreach events through interviews on Hispanic TV shows. Almost 250K viewers saw
the shows, generating 1,500 calls for HD.
—Granddaughter, Cox
Communications
Cox’s ad supported its brand promise of
“Your Friend in the Digital Age.” It featured
—The Chicas Project:
Season 4, mun2
mun2’s support for season 4 of The Chicas
Project was a combination of grassroots,
print, radio and TV marketing that incorporated the chicas’ cool, sexy and edgy attitude. The campaign produced the series’
highest-rated premiere.
—Cox Las Vegas Filipino On Demand Launch Case Study, Cox
Cox Las Vegas attempted to increase
Filipino on Demand use through a grassroots event at Seafood City, where Filipino
Americans were urged to see TFC celebrity
Gelo from the show Barangay USA. The
campaign increased FOD usage 12%,
exceeding Cox’s goals.
Second Place: (Tie)
—Latino Student Athlete of the
Year Scholarship, Fox Networks
CableFAX’s Top Case Studies in Cable Marketing & PR Guidebook
This one of a kind book, from the publisher of CableFAX,
exemplifies how cable programmers, operators and vendors cut through
the clutter to mount PR and Marketing efforts that worked, gained
revenue, ratings points and industry buzz. Each study demonstrates
some facet of ingenuity, innovation or integrated thinking, illuminating
communications as a function that has matured with poise and established
its indispensability to business practices.
Order your copy and improve your power of PR today –
September 2010
17907
cablefaxmag.com
35
—Happy Mother’s Day Makeover/
Reinvent Yourself, Olympusat
—Channel One Russia Comcast
Philadelphia Launch Campaign,
International Media Distribution
Third Place: (Tie)
—CNN Presents: Latino In
America, CNN
—Bandamax Launch, TuTv
—BET Awards 09, BET Networks
—nyc dominican baseball campaign, ESPN, espn Deportes
—Way Black When, TV One
MARKETING TACTICS
Time Warner Cable sent a bright
magazine-format mailer that included a
profile of rock band Marie Celeste, On
Demand movies and reviews of original
series and pay-per-view concerts/events.
Strong results included response rates
reaching 1% among non-subs and 2%
with upgrading customers.
—HBO Black History Month, Direct Mail Campaign, HBO
HBO faced the economic slowdown head
on with a Feb ’10 affiliate and partner
campaign. In a mailer sent to some 68K
addresses, HBO partnered with MSOs
and other providers, emphasizing relevant
documentaries and original series Treme.
ALL OTHER MEDIA
—Bollywood Hero, IFC
IFC took to the streets of NY to increase
visibility generally and specifically with
South Asians for original mini-series
Bollywood Hero. It staged “flash mob”
dance events where ostensibly people in
the crowd joined Indian dancers in elaborate movements. IFC met internal goals
for the campaign.
—Epitafios Season 2 Press Kit, HBO
HBO Latino launched Epitafios with a press
kit for the ages. It was disguised as a police file, complete with crime-scene photos,
evidence details and criminal profiles. It
was HBO Latino’s most successful press
launch, with 43mln impressions.
DIGITAL
—Unmistakable Campaign, HBO
HBO ran a digital campaign on BET’s
Website for 30 days touting HBO shows
and series that would appeal to African
Americans. It garnered 2.3mln impressions with a click-through of 0.22%.
—BET Honors 2010, BET
BET’s support of The BET Honors included a series of online ads featuring host
Gabrielle Union. Impressions ran higher
than expected at 15mln and the interaction rate of 4.5 exceeded the goal of 2.99.
Turner Broadcasting’s 6-week campaign
for Lopez Tonight included illuminated
boards, wild postings, bus kings and a
Times Square Twitter board that displayed real-time messages promoting
the show, which premiered to more than
3mln viewers.
Second Place:
PRINT
IFC marketed mini-series Bollywood Hero
in major markets with half- and full-page
ads featuring Indian celebrities Neha Dhupia and Pooja Kumar.
Second Place: (Tie)
—Comcast GMA Life TV Upsell
Marketing Tactic, GMA Network
—TV JAPAN Comcast SF Bay Area
Free Preview Direct Mail 2009, International Media Distribution
Second Place:
—Comcast GMA Life TV Upsell
Marketing Tactic, GMA
Third Place:
—TBS Lopez Tonight Direct Mail,
Turner
—Bring Love Home for the Holidays, TFC Holiday Gift With Purchase Print Ad, International
Media Distribution
DIVERSITY AWARENESS
Radio
—TNT HawthoRNe Inspired Connections, Turner
TNT promoted HawthoRNe by focusing on
positive messages presented in the series
aimed at faith-based audiences. Reaching out to faith-based groups and local
spiritual leaders, TNT helped its new series
premiere to more than 4mln viewers.
— Bandamax Vicente Fernández
Concert Sweepstakes, TuTV
TuTv joined Mediacom and Ranchera music king Vicente Fernández to launch music
channel Bandamax. TuTV’s sweepstakes
winners got a VIP trip to a Fernández concert. Mediacom saw a 30% jump in sales.
Third Place:
Second Place:
GRASSROOTS
—TNT HAWthoRNe Mocha Moms
Screenings, Turner
TNT partnered with African-American
social organization Mocha Moms on HawthoRNe screenings for the group’s 10 largest chapters. As stated above, the series
premiered to more than 4mln viewers.
—Comcast Hispanic SBN Scoreboards, Ameredia
TELEVISION
—MTV Tr3s Census 2010, MTV
MTV Tr3s promoted the importance of the
’10 Census through a site and PSAs directed at Latino youth. The site generated
80K hits; 6K+ came via the MTV Tr3s link.
Second Place:
Second Place:
—BET Hip Hop Awards 2009, BET
Second Place: (Tie)
Third Place:
—Epitafios Season 2 Microsite, HBO
DIRECT MAIL
—The Mo’Nique Show, BET
—De Película El Santo DVD Giveaway, TuTV
—US Census: Dora PSA, MTV
—Nexos Latinos™ TWC NYC Acquisition/Upgrade, Winter 2010,
Eclipse Marketing
OUT OF HOME
Third Place:
—TBS Lopez Tonight OOH, Turner
—Asians Aloud, HBO
36
cablefaxmag.com
September 2010
2010 Top 10
Places to Work
in Cable
By Michael Grebb with Seth Arenstein
Lately, it seems like the best place to work is anywhere hiring. Gallows humor, perhaps. But know one
thing: cable continues to fight for the best employees. Now
that the economy has stabilized (sort of), cable remains one of
the best places to park it in an office chair, behind the wheel of a
service vehicle or at the edge of a utility Versalift.
Sure, belts are tight. And companies across the board have implemented cost cutting and other
measures that make us yearn for 2007. Despite the shared sacrifices of workers everywhere, we
found plenty of cable companies still offering impressive and innovative employee benefits.
As in previous years, we asked employees to complete our online nomination form if they felt their
employer was deserving and to tell us why. The CableFAX staff compiled the list, with criteria including
benefits, growth potential, diversity initiatives, advancement opportunities for women and community
involvement, among other things. The companies profiled below are listed in alphabetical order.
Canoe Ventures
Charter Communications
Did you hear that no one’s hiring now?
Don’t tell that to Canoe Ventures, which
continues to increase its headcount and
just moved to bigger offices in Manhattan’s Rockefeller
Center area to accommodate its growing ranks.
Add to this picture the scrappy feel of this
industry-funded upstart and it’s clear why Canoe
again makes our list. It’s the kind of place where the
lowest-level employee can feasibly bring an idea
to dynamic CEO David Verklin—and actually see it
incorporated into the business plan without going
through endless layers of middle management. It’s a
place where smart people go to apply new concepts
in interactive advertising, using technologies and
techniques never before applied across the country’s
diverse patchwork of cable systems.
And here’s the best part: Employees get all the excitement of a startup but with the stability of a company
backed by cable’s biggest MSOs. It’s literally the best
of both worlds. But as a savvy advertiser might say,
“Wait… there’s more!” Canoe also offers benefits that
go beyond the usual. How about a 50% match on
401K contributions and tuition reimbursement? How
about discounts at participating retailers via the Rockefeller Privilege program? And get this: Yoga at Work!
This ain’t Don Draper’s advertising business.
It’s one thing when we get a
couple of nominations from
the HR or PR departments.
But when nearly 250 employees, ranging from SVPs to
CSRs, take the time to give us
details on why their company is among cable’s best,
we listen closely. That’s the
situation with Charter. Despite its rocky road over the last few years
with bankruptcy, financial re-orgs and even the loss of respected
CEO Neil Smit to Comcast, employees continue to proudly sing
its praises. Said one headend tech: “I came to Charter 5 years ago
looking for a job and I found a career.” An employee who needed to
move because of a family emergency notes that “Charter practically bent over backward trying to find me the closest position I was
qualified for to keep me not only closer to my family but [to] stay with
the company.” Those kind of anecdotes are typical of Charter.
We could list other benefits: Worker training programs, support for
charity work, retirement benefits, tuition reimbursement, adoption
expense reimbursement, an employee discount program (mycharterconnection.com), survivor benefits, etc. But most workers who got in
touch with us focused on the supportive atmosphere and opportunities for advancement. “Charter has been a blessing for my family,”
said an enthused employee. For a company that’s been through the
ringer in recent years, that’s gotta be music to management’s ears.
38
cablefaxmag.com
September 2010
Comcast
Cox Communications
Is big necessarily better? Sometimes. We
got dozens of enthusiastic entries from
Comcasters who praised cable’s Papa
Bear for its advancement programs, including Steve Burke’s brainchild, Comcast
U, where employees learn new areas of the business.
The company had held more than 15K employee training events by the end of Q2 and most of Comcast’s
leaders come from internal promotions. In terms of
atmosphere, a common theme seems to be “corporate,
but fun.” As a Texas employee noted, “This company
really works and plays hard.”
In addition, Comcast continues to offer significant
perks, including free cable, tuition reimbursement, 401K
match (up to 4.5% of salary), an employee stock purchase/stock options program, numerous mentoring initiatives and many other benefits. As one happy employee
said: “I attended a conference and founder Ralph Roberts
asked folks to raise their hand if Comcast was not their
first job. Once he counted the hands, he simply said,
‘You’re home now… Welcome!” That says it all.
Not only is Cox one of the best places for
customer care and diversity, it’s also one
of the best places to work. Perhaps Cox
knows something that many others have
forgotten: Happy employees equal happier
customers. It’s no wonder. A recent employee survey
indicated near-perfect scores in areas like company
culture and exec engagement. Among Cox’s benefits
are career development initiatives that match employee
aspirations and values to business needs (simple yet brilliant), a company-funded pension and 50% 401K match,
Dependent Care reimbursement including elderly care,
Weight Watchers at Work and—who’d a thunk it?—fresh
fruit in break rooms. Fresh fruit? Watch out, Snickers!
Cox’s call centers offer child care. The San Diego
center even has a state-of-the-art facility. And in Hampton
Roads, VA, Cox offers a childcare subsidy of 25%/child
to employees making less than $60K. A virtual call center
initiative in AZ allows employees to work from home. Cox
offers tuition reimbursement, mentoring and other support
for those who want to work hard and move up.
Discovery
It’s never a
tough call to include Discovery
here, especially because it
continues to offer the same
impressive slate of perks
and advantages that have
put it in our Top 10 since
we started compiling this
list. Working at Discovery
equals association with a
big content company blazing into the future under
ever-moving CEO David
Zaslav. Its headquarters is
in the economically healthy
D.C. area. And with Oprah
developing a network, isn’t it
only a matter of time before
all employees get a free car?
OK... maybe that’s not going
to happen, but Discovery’s
focus on employees is truly
unique.
Not only does its MentorNet program foster professional development, but
Fox Networks
Imagine a workplace with an on-site
daycare center, a car wash, a hair salon,
a shoe repair shop, a dry cleaner, a gym
and, as of just recently, even a fullservice dentist. Now imagine a Learning
and Development Center with classes
ranging from “Managing Difficult Conversations” to “Creative Communication.”
How about a philanthropic outreach program where employees can volunteer up
to 40 hours per year on company time?
Or a place where the top legal execs are
minority women: (EVP/General Counsel
Rita Tuzon and SVP/Associate General
other perks include tuition
reimbursement, a $1,500
employee referral program,
a generous 401K match (up
to 3% of salary; 50% for
the next 3%). In addition to
wellness centers at its Silver
Spring and NYC locations,
Discovery’s headquarters
has a childcare center with
room for 102 kids, from
infants to pre-schoolers. The
company also offers national
childcare support through
Counsel Claudia Teran)? Well, this
place actually exists, sunshine. And
it’s called Fox Networks. That’s
not all. Fox sponsors numerous
other employee programs, including
the “X Awards,” in which managers can
hand out bonuses of $25 to $500 to top
performers, referral bonuses and tuition
reimbursement. These benefits continue despite the economic downturn.
And Fox has avoided significant layoffs.
But beyond the programs and perks is
the work environment itself. Says one
employee: “Creativity and risk-taking are
rewarded. Employees are encouraged to
September 2010
Bright Horizon’s Back-Up
Care Program, providing
24/7 access to emergency
in-home childcare or eldercare. Flex time options are
available. Need exercise?
How about a commuting
reimbursement of up to
$350 toward the purchase of
a bicycle, $100 annually toward athletic shoes, a $60/
month transit subsidy and
even car-sharing services?
Sign us up.
X-CITED: Fox managers can dole out bonuses.
voice ideas and opinions. The executives let you run your own deals without
micromanaging you.” Sounds good.
cablefaxmag.com
39
Scripps Networks
For those who love cable but don’t want to
live in NY or LA, the little town of Knoxville,
TN, beckons like warm apple pie. Perhaps
we’re laying it on thick, but
Scripps’ homespun charm
and location are part of its
character and strength. And it
offers plenty of perks, including tuition reimbursement, referral bonuses,
training programs and a healthy 401K match
of 50% (up to 6% of income). Scripps also
GUY’S GUY: Food’s Fieri loves apple pie and kids.
sports an impressive record on gender
equality, with WICT’s ’09 PAR Initiative naming it among the best programmers for women. Not only are 54% of Scripps’ managers
women, but women lead three of its nets (Food, Travel and DIY). People of color comprise 25% of management and hold top positions at Cooking, Travel, digital, legal and
HR. Community service runs through the Scripps’ soul. It gives employees one paid
volunteer day during its annual Volunteer Week and matched staff donations to Haiti’s
earthquake relief up to $5K. So we’re over the top with the apple pie thing? Sue us.
Turner
Like Scripps, Turner offers a way to work
at a top media company outside of LA
and NY. And while Atlanta gets a bit…
shall we say, muggy…during the summer,
we think that might be a result of Turner’s
red-hot content on broadcast-competitive
nets like TNT and TBS. But it’s about more
than location. Turner also offers impressive benefits, including its “Total Rewards”
portfolio with a paid-time-off bank (18-28
days based on tenure), on-site fitness/gym
discounts, an on-site health and wellness
center, discounts at local sporting events
and on travel, up to $5K tuition reimbursement, up to $250 for backup child care,
$10K in adoption assistance, a backup
dependent care program
for childcare and adult/elder
care, a subsidized commuting program for mass
transit, vanpools, carpools and bikers,
paid leave for adoption, maternity and
parental duties. Whew. Turner even offers
healthcare management, including a 24/7
“NurseLine,” maternity support and the
Autism Support Program. Turner not only
sponsors a near-site daycare center in
Atlanta but a NYC backup daycare center
that traveling employees can use for free.
Then there’s professional development,
mentoring, support for volunteering… too
much to list here. The point? Even with
Atlanta’s summers, Turner’s cool.
WOW!
Wouldn’t you like to work at a company
whose reverence for employees is
perhaps the most critical piece of its
philosophy? That’s Denver-based
overbuilder WOW!, whose chief, Colleen Abdoulah, states boldly, “Employees come first here.” There are
CAN DO: Happy employees also care.
perks and benefits, but the root of WOW!’s
thinking is that outstanding customer care comes only when there’s worker satisfaction.
“We put a premium on making sure our employees can do their jobs well, consistently,”
says Mike Furst, SVP of Customer Care. The feisty Abdoulah routinely spends hours with
new hires, especially those who interact directly with customers. WOW!’s philosophy
emanates from Abdoulah, who learned it from her dad. More than 90% of WOW! employees say they are “extremely happy” at work. And the customers? In last year’s J.D. Power
survey, WOW! achieved the highest customer satisfaction ranking in all its regions for
video, Internet and phone. That’s never been done. By anyone.
40
cablefaxmag.com
September 2010
Time Warner
Cable
We often hear
good things about
working at Time
Warner Cable, and
it’s no wonder.
Judging from its low
turnover and attention to
employee benefits, this company understands that every
worker—no matter what their
rank—ultimately has a huge
influence on customers. So
Time Warner Cable offers
more than 2,000 training
courses, an education assistance program, mentoring
and job shadowing to foster
professional development.
And there are other perks,
including discounted cable,
domestic partner benefits,
lactating rooms, on-site
amenities such as fitness
facilities (or subsidized memberships at local wellness/fitness centers), and even dry
cleaning pick-up.
The company also encourages participation in industry
groups, paying for employees to join associations like
WICT and NAMIC. An internal
Women’s Council, meanwhile,
strategizes ways to foster
female career advancement.
The company also encourages community service and
just launched “Connect a
Million Minds,” an initiative to
encourage youth to pursue
education and careers in science, technology, engineering
and math. And let’s not forget
that the company is based in
the heart of midtown Manhattan, considered by many to be
the center of the universe and
also a major local system for
Time Warner Cable. Come to
think of it, Time Warner also
runs an LA system. So if you
want to be in the center of all
things show biz, why not work
for a company connected to
its two central hubs?

the diversity issue

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