Cablefax The Magazine - December 2011 - 14

9 | FEMALE AUTHORITY
Bonnie Hammer
Title: Chairwoman, NBCU Cable Entertainment
and Cable Studios (pictured, left)
Years in Cable: 24
Education: BA/MA, Boston University
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: There's no
such word as " can't. "
Lauren Zalaznick
Title: Chairwoman, Entertainment & Digital
Networks and Integrated Media, NBCU
(pictured, right)
Years in Cable: 17
Education: Brown University
Best Advice: High hopes, low expectations.
Why Them? As two of the most authoritative
female executives in the business, these
veteran cablers continue to climb the corporate
ladder, seemingly five rungs at a time. Both
Hammer and Zalaznick are thriving in the
merged NBCU-Comcast world, adding a heap
of fresh ventures to their already-packed
portfolios. In her new chair role, Zalaznick
takes on eight additional businesses, including
Fandango, DailyCandy and Telemundo, alongside
already booming Bravo. With current USA
and Syfy, Hammer ropes in E! Entertainment,
G4, Chiller, Sleuth, Universal HD and Universal
Cable Productions.
Team Players: While they're proven leaders
in their own right, both executives are quick
to laud their supporting teams-a modus
operandi that's no doubt made the corporate
transition that much easier.
Year Ahead: Skeptics of the successful
merging of two behemoths have been rather
quiet of late...
Bonnie Hammer
Personal theme song: " With a Little Help
from My Friends "
Favorite " going out " town: New York... Is
there any other?
Favorite Starbucks order: Venti soy chai...
I'm addicted.
Sports team: I couldn't face my husband or
kid if I didn't say the Knicks.
What puzzles me most about Millennials is:
Their ability to multitask. How are they able to
juggle so many different information sources
all at the same time?
What I admire most about Millennials is:
Their ability to multitask.
Lauren Zalaznick
One thing I tell my kids about success in
life: It comes to you every day, but in ways
most people don't measure.
Worst thing heard in a meeting: " Will the little
cartoon characters look more realistic in the actual
commercial? " (as client is looking at storyboards).
Favorite Starbucks order: Grande non-fat,
no-foam, half-caf latte
Favorite sports team: New York Yankees ◆
Why Him? Cox had big plans for wireless
in 2011, but recently announced it would
be axing the service in early 2012 after
reaching less than 50% of its footprint as
it faced challenges in achieving wireless
scale and deploying 4G services. Killing
off a business is never easy, but we
applaud Esser for doing it sooner rather
than later. Despite this speed bump, Cox
has earned a lot of goodwill over the years
in the cable industry and with customers,
regularly ranking as the top customer
service cable operators in the annual J.D.
Powers surveys.
Industry Leadership: Esser currently
chairs the NCTA and was reelected this
summer for a second term.
Year Ahead:
Cox is poised to
launch an iPad app to let customers
watch 35 live cable networks on the
tablet device, following similar efforts
from Time Warner and Cablevision.
The wireless shuttering looms large,
but we're eager to see how customers
respond to this new addition in 2012.
The one thing I tell my kids about
success in life: Make good choices
(it's a parent thing). ◆
14
cablefaxmag.com
December 2011
CableFAX: The Magazine
10 | THE DECISION MAKER
Pat Esser
Title: President, Cox Communications
Years in Cable: 31
Education: BA, MA, Communications
Media, U of Northern Iowa
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: There's
no downside for being over-prepared.
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Cablefax The Magazine - December 2011

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