Cablefax The Magazine August 2023 - 19

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Henthorn Amplified Cable Center's Impact
By Amy Miller Kravetz
In a way, Jana Henthorn can thank volleyball
for her career. More than 30 years ago, while
refereeing a charity game, she caught the eye
of the tournament director-an exec at ATC,
which later became Time Warner Cable-who
told her to come see him about a job. " That
was my first job in the industry, in consumer
research, " says Henthorn, who retired as president
and CEO of The Cable Center in January
2022.
Since that auspicious beginning, Henthorn
mastered the cable industry game. Under her
leadership, The Cable Center cemented its
legacy as a place to showcase the history of
the connectivity industry while also preparing
future leaders. Among the offerings that Henthorn
is most proud of are the Barco Library's
collection of oral histories from industry icons,
which are being streamlined to focus on the
subject's strategic impact on the industry, as
well as the Intrapreneurship Academy. In 2017,
the center launched the IA, which now offers
three leadership development courses.
The Cable Center " is important because it
not only contains the historical record of the
industry, " says Henthorn. " But it also is beginning
a really significant innovation and
expansion to something called the Syndeo
Institute at the Cable Center [the rebranding
occurred in March]. And that's reinvigorating
and empowering education and collaboration.
[Syndeo Institute] is the culmination of
my dream for The Cable Center since I became
CEO in 2016...We're trying to bridge that entrepreneurial
foundation to the future and make
that innovation focused. "
Diane Christman, President and CEO of
Syndeo Institute at The Cable Center, says
Henthorn's impact will be felt for years to
come. " She saw the link of how our industry's
entrepreneurial past could inform, educate,
and prepare future leaders. What she called
early on 'the bridge' now encompasses the
work and mission of Syndeo Institute at The
Cable Center. "
Henthorn came to The Cable Center in 2004.
Prior to that, she worked at Jones Intercable,
climbing the ranks to VP of Operations and
service fulfillment. In 1999, she headed to
A+E Networks as VP of Affiliate Sales for the
Western Region. It was in these roles that
Henthorn says she learned the key traits of
effective leadership: to listen and be humble.
She quotes Louise Penny's fictional character
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache on
the four sentences leaders should say more
often: " I don't know. I was wrong. I'm sorry. I
need your help. "
Henthorn has also never hesitated to offer
help. She's a champion of The WICT Network
and served on both the national and Rocky
Mountain boards. " As much as I volunteered,
I always got back more than I gave, " she says.
" I really do think it's important to extend your
hand back, to pull others up. My purpose, my
belief, is that the world will be a better place
when women have half the seats at the executive
table. And I really hope that I've helped
to increase the probability of that. "
Keely Buchanan, Director, Event Experience
& Internal Communications at Charter
Communications, thinks so. Henthorn has
been a mentor for years and invited Buchanan
to join WICT Network's Rocky Mountain
board in 2009. " When Jana Henthorn offers
you an opportunity, you jump, " Buchanan
says. " She takes her role as someone who
clears a path for the women coming behind
her very seriously. "
Henthorn was the first female president
and CEO of The Cable Center. The
FAST
FAX
Intrapreneurship Academy boasts 450+
graduates from 35 organizations.
She was in the WICT Network's
first class of the Betsy Magness
Leadership Institute.
Henthorn now teaches an MBA course in inclusive leadership
at University of Denver's Daniels College of Business and
chairs the management department's global advisory board.
CablefaxTopOps.com
August 2023
TOP OPS 19
http://www.CablefaxTopOps.com
Cablefax The Magazine August 2023

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