Cablefax The Magazine - April 2017 - 60

88. QUALITY COUNTS
Mike George
President and CEO
QVC
Years in Cable: 11 years
Education: Bachelor's, Northwestern; Master's,
Finance, Northwestern University's Kellogg
Graduate School of Management
Mary Campbell
EVP, Commerce Platforms
QVC
Years in Cable: 26
Education: Bachelor's, Psychology,
Connecticut State University
Campbell's professional career demonstrates
extensive leadership breadth, as she's held
positions across QVC's business in the merchandising,
planning and commerce platforms
functions. Her current role requires leading the
strategic direction of the company's TV, web,
mobile, tablet and social media operations
while evolving and translating the QVC brand
across all platforms. Likewise, George is keenly
focused on platform innovation. Under his
leadership, QVC is making great strides in its
digital presence through its TV, mobile, tablet,
wearables and second-screen offerings.
George Q&A
What inspires you most about this industry?
The cable industry is always striving to create
experiences that resonate best with viewers.
For QVC, TV continues to be our most powerful
platform, giving us the opportunity to share
with our customers why we're passionate
about our products. By constantly adjusting our
shows and our product offerings in response
to customer feedback, we are inviting the
customer to co-create the retail experience
with us in real time.
The biggest innovation in cable over
the last year?
Cable continues to innovate at the pace
of technology and consumer behavior. In
recent months, QVC has made significant
investments in order to meet the changing
demands of TV broadcasting to allow
us to seamlessly transition to support
ultra-high definition and high dynamic
range technology such as 4K when the time is
right for our customers and business.
Campbell Q&A
What inspires you most about this industry?
With broadcast programming reaching 362
million homes globally, TV continues to be
QVC's most powerful platform. Embracing the
" liveness " of the cable industry, we are always
finding new ways to grow our secondary
networks.
Favorite Saturday morning cartoon from
your childhood? " The Jetsons. " At the time,
the cartoon's sci-fi concepts seemed so unattainable
but now we are seeing some of those
futuristic ideas come to life such as virtual and
augmented reality.
New favorite binge: Beauty iQ, QVC's new
beauty destination, offers all the binge-worthy
content beauty lovers crave in one place that's
accessible everywhere.
The biggest innovation in cable over the last
year? Consumer engagement with technology
continues to blur as devices become more and
more interconnected. As a result, QVC is focusing
on not only identifying the right content
for the right customers across channels, but
also driving engagement and loyalty. Also, we
are exploring new ways to revolutionize the
customer experience by investing in personalization
and relevance across platforms. ■
89. MAN WITH A PLAN
Kent Steffen
President, Global
OTT Business
CSG International
Years in Cable: 21
Education: University
of Illinois
One Word that
Best Describes
Me: Decisive...wait, let me check with my
wife.
Beyond his work in spearheading a number
of customer wins for CSG, Steffen is a cable
industry innovator with an acute sense of
where the market is headed. Pulling from his
experience and knowledge, he helps cable
operators extend and defend their share of an
increasingly noisy space, while also pushing
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the industry forward by introducing new ideas
for monetizing content in the digital age.
Q&A
What inspires you most about this industry?
The pace of change. Huge shifts are driven by
the competitive market, and many incumbents
are reacting well and making competitive
changes. There are also several new entrants
to the field that are raising the bar. It's a great
time for consumers.
What are the top three qualities you look for
in a hire? 1) Entitled: I like candidates who feel
that they have the mental tools and the authority
to make big changes happen. 2) Exploratory:
Able to excel even when the path forward is
not always apparent. 3) Well-balanced: Able to
celebrate the victories with the team, and rise
to the challenge during tough times
Which TV family is most like your own?
April 2017
" D'oh! " It's got to be The Simpsons.
My OTT prediction is... I have a few: 1) A
greater number of cable networks will go direct
to consumer in International Markets. 2) Sports
leagues and teams will blend direct to consumer
OTT video with digital fan services. 3)
Established OTT providers will partner with telcos
to scale their offerings. 4) Social networks
will use premium OTT content to promote the
adoption of their live video services, so we
all create their content for free. 5) As service
providers (cable/satellite) incorporate mobile
into their bundle they will make a huge shift
to OTT video to differentiate their in home/out
of home service, provide cross device viewing
and drive out costs.
New favorite binge: I like the Sunday trio of
" Homeland, " " Billions " and " Last Week Tonight
with John Oliver. " Great writing all around. ■
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Cablefax The Magazine - April 2017

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