Cablefax The Magazine - September 2010 - 32

2010 Most Infl uential
Maria Arias
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.
Phyllis Batson
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
fi ve call centers for Comcast.
Best Books: Call Center
Management on Fast Forward
by Brad Cleveland and The
Speed of Trust by Stephen
Covey.
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
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. "
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. "
Best Business Book Read:
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. "
Paul Biava
VP of Operations, Central
New Jersey
Comcast
Two of the Central NJ areas
Biava oversees achieved the
best and fi fth-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
Favorite Destination:
" Alaska. I had the privilege of
visiting the GCI fi shing 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 fi shing and connection
with nature are unbelievably
breathtaking. "
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.
Dianne Earley
VP, Media Sales
Cox Media
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.
G. Wayne Davis
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
" fi nding and placing the most
talented professionals into
key positions. "
Favorite Destinations:
" Maui, Hawaii, Kapalua
Beach. One of the world's
September 2010
Earley has revamped Cox
Media's ad-sales operations.
" Our organization has undergone
signifi cant transformation
over the past two years in
an effort to create effi ciencies
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. "
Biggest Accomplishment
in Last Year: " Merged two
strong, diverse organizations,
located in two unique
geographic markets into one
high performing team. "
Favorite Destination:
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. "
CableFAX: The Magazine
http://www.cablefaxmag.com
Cablefax The Magazine - September 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cablefax The Magazine - September 2010
