cfx_september-2024 - 20

ConnECting
thE DotS
By Sara Winegardner
During his time at the Australian
Graduate School of Management at
UNSW Business School in Sydney,
Australia, Dandnaik played wing on
the AGSM Wombats rugby team.
Dandnaik served on The Cable Center's
Customer Care Committee as part of his
service to the broader cable industry.
derstanding the intricacies of the device
marketplace.
" I think we'll learn a lot. Part of it is it's
a dynamic competitive business, and it
[allows] our employees and teams to really
compete at a different level, " Dandnaik
said. " That's the beauty about the industry-we
just keep learning from each other
and what we see. We don't stand alone. A
lot of people in the industry, they all root for
each other... that's really rare. "
While the planning for the mobile launch
In another world, Tapan Dandnaik is still
working as an engineer. Mediacom's SVP,
Operations, Product Strategy and Consumer
Experience worked as a Lead Project
Engineer at Ingersoll-Rand in India for
nearly two years before pursuing additional
educational opportunities, and that
background has shaped his approach to
his professional career in cable.
" Being an engineer, I like process and I
like to really see how things connect with
each other so you can make a good overall
product and experience, " Dandnaik says.
" Having that visibility and doing the work
with the modeling, it just really helped me
connect the dots. "
It was when he completed his MBA in
Finance from Indiana University Bloomington
that he found a chance to join the cable
industry. The idea of connecting homes to
technological advancements like video
fascinated him, and he had an opportunity
to assist his cousin at his internet startup.
He continued looking for the right moment
to join the industry, and eventually wrote
an email to a recruiter for RCN. Not only
did the recruiter respond, but he invited
Dandnaik to fly to Princeton to interview
for a position as an analyst in corporate
development. Due to some internal switchups
at RCN, Dandnaik instead interviewed
for a similar role in the finance department
and was brought on in July 2000.
He dove right in, spending time talking
about operations and building models, but
RCN also made sure he understood the
business before he was in too deep. " The
first three months, everyone went through
20
this cable camp so you learned about the
business, installation and everything... I
appreciate it a lot, " Dandnaik says. " But
then I spent time out of my day job just to
make sure, for example with marketing,
how do you get a sale...; how does a direct
mail become a response? How does
it become a call? That all led me to really
understand the business. "
He stayed at RCN through its 2004 bankruptcy
proceeding and assisted the new
executive team into 2005 before heading
to Mediacom, which he continues to call
home today. Starting as VP, Financial Operations,
he has risen through the ranks
and added operational strategy, customer
service, data analytics and more to his list
of responsibilities as he made his climb to
his current role as SVP, Operations, Product
Strategy and Consumer Experience. His
outlook and dedication to asking about
the " why " behind every situation is what
led Mediacom founder Rocco Commisso
to recommend Dandnaik for NCTA's Vanguard
Award for Young Leadership in 2012
and what earned him his nickname-The
Troubleshooter.
Dandnaik has continued to embrace
that approach, and it has served him well
every step of the way, including in the
lead-up to the launch of Mediacom Mobile
through an MVNO arrangement with
Verizon. He pushed for rigorous testing of
the service from a technological standpoint,
and approximately 170 employees
signed up for 330 lines in the first month.
He meticulously examined every aspect
of the service, working with OEMs and unSeptember
2024
CablefaxTopOps.com
was underway, Mediacom also became the
third U.S.-based cable operator to begin offering
the Xumo Stream Box to its customers.
Dandnaik is always looking for ways to
offer more value to Mediacom customers,
and it is no secret that linear TV has been
on the decline.
" If you think about it our internet, most
customers are using the internet to watch
video. So what we're giving through Xumo
is an opportunity for them to bring their
own streaming service, whatever you want
to call that, and then as we develop, we're
going to provide them more and they can
get free content, and so on and so forth, "
he says.
Tapan Dandnaik's Mentality
Keeps Mediacom on Top
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR
http://www.CablefaxTopOps.com
cfx_september-2024

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