Cablefax The Magazine December 2022 - 18

Bilai Joa Silar
SVP, OTT Content
TelevisaUnivision
It's been a huge year for Silar, a key
driver behind the launch of TelevisaUnivision's
burgeoning streaming
platforms. She spearheaded the
content strategy for PrendeTV,
providing 30 channels and 10,000 hours of content, and
she recruited and managed a new team, led third-party
content acquisition and built a library of original channels
for ViX, the largest Spanish-language free streaming
service across the U.S. and Latin America.
If TikTok had existed when I was young, I would
have been a producer as a kid, creating short
videos with my family and friends. "
Cameron Blanchard
EVP, Communications
Charter Communications
Blanchard is laser-focused on
supporting her company's priorities
through strategic outreach and
has worked to promote Charter as
not only a go-to destination but
an employer of choice. She also serves as the executive
sponsor for Charter's internal Spectrum Women Business
Group, which aims to empower women to reach their
potential professionally and personally.
A quote I draw inspiration from is the classic
phrase, 'Tragedy (although I replace that with
Crisis) + Time = Comedy.' It helps me keep
perspective. Regardless of how fraught the current
situation appears to be, most likely it's really not that bad
and in time will become great comedic material. "
Women's Advancement Champion
When Julie Laulis was approached
about being the next CEO of Cable
One, she wasn't sure she wanted the
role. " I said, 'I love my job. I think I'm
a really good COO. I really don't want
this whole public life-that whole external-facing
part,' " she recalls.
But talking it over with her spouse
gave her a new perspective. " My husband's
like, 'Julie, you have to do it if for
no other reason than for our daughter
and to show others.' That was a really
heavy mantle, but it really played into
my decision, " says Laulis, who took on
the CEO role in 2017-making her part
of a very elite group of women who've
held that post among broadband and
cable operators.
As she weighed the career move, she
made a list of pros for taking the job that
included showing folks that it doesn't
matter if you joined the industry as a CSR
or are from a small town or are a woman,
you can have this job. " I call myself the
Reluctant CEO. But people need to see people like me in
positions that matter, " she says.
All of this fits with Laulis' modest and strong leadership
style that's more action than talk. She's led Cable One
through investments in 10 companies, including the acquisitions
of Hargray and CableAmerica, while achieving
$1.6 billion in total revenue in 2021 along with 1.2 million
residential and business high-speed data PSUs.
Connection is another hallmark of Laulis' legacy. She stays
in touch with associates through twice-monthly videos
that cover a variety of topics, from emotional and physical
wellness to culture and leadership. She just recorded an
interview series with former Washington Post publisher
Don Graham to talk about Cable One's roots (it was spun
18
off from Graham Holdings in 2015).
" When I do these things, I do them
because I want to be connected and
it's much harder since we've been
acquiring, plus COVID. I deeply care
about these people. I know them
and their families usually, " she says.
" This is how we support each other
and take care of each other. And they
report back to me when I send them
out. So as long as they do that, and it
has value, I'll do it. "
Her firsthand experience with the
importance of a support system
goes back to when Comcast purchased
Jones Intercable in 1999 and
laid her and virtually everyone else
off. A WICT Network member since
Julie Laulis
President & CEO
Cable One
1985, she credits the Betsy Magness
Leadership Institute for helping her
navigate the period, which came
shortly after giving birth to her son.
" If I hadn't gone through BMLI, I
would have been a pile of blubbering
mess. But because I'd been through that, I had all these
contacts, not that they were going to get me a job, but
I could just sit and talk to them and say, 'I'm angry, I'm
frustrated, I'm not sure where to go next. What should I
do?' " she recalls.
Laulis' steady hand has cemented her as a champion of
women and people of all walks of life. Under her leadership,
Cable One's board is 60% female and female
representation within the executive leadership team has
grown 15% YOY. " Abilities are universal, but opportunities
aren't, so how do you make room for more people to
have opportunities? " asks Laulis. " I didn't want to have
a board of 10 women though because that isn't diversity.
It is about different experiences and different points of
view. Diversity includes everyone. "
December 2022
CablefaxWomen.com
http://www.CablefaxWomen.com
Cablefax The Magazine December 2022

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