Cablefax The Magazine - December 2012 - 21

31. THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Jerry Kent
Title: Chairman/CEO,
Suddenlink Communications
Number of Years in Cable: 29
Education: BA; MBA Washington
University (St. Louis)
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Customer
service is the cornerstone of success.
Why Him? Kent's holiday gift doesn't quite
fit under the tree this year. The buyout of his
beloved Suddenlink, in a $6.6 billion deal that
ranks with the largest U.S. buyouts since the
financial crisis, was slated for completion at
the end of December. The deal secures the
longtime CEO's next chapter presiding over the
seventh largest cable operator in the country.
The move gives Kent more agility to push even
faster for upgrades including enhancements to
VOD, HD, Internet speed, and TiVo service on the
consumer side, as well as multi-line business
phone service. He's also keen to raise the bar on
multiroom and multiplatform viewing options.
The biggest innovation in cable over the last
year has been... Neil Smit getting Comcast's
cable operations to perform exceptionally well.
Disney World or Universal Studios Orlando?
The Magic House/Children's Museum in St. Louis.
I'm chairman of this organization that was chosen
in a Zagat nationwide poll to be children's favorite
destination, besting other organizations.
Bands I would actually go see live: Just
saw Paul McCartney in concert. I want to see
the Rolling Stones again. Yes, I'm old.
My favorite vacation spot: Beaver Creek,
CO, skiing with my kids.
My favorite iPad app: Sportacular-
following Notre Dame football and St. Louis
Blues hockey.
33. SCRIPPS' LEADING MEN
Ken Lowe
Title: Chairman, President and CEO, Scripps Networks Interactive
Number of Years in Cable: 18
Education: BA from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: It's the People.
John Lansing
Title: President, Scripps Networks
Number of Years in Cable: 9
Education: BA, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Arrive early, stay late & raise the bar.
32. ROCCO'S ROLL
Rocco Commisso
Title: Chairman/CEO, Mediacom
Why Him? Commisso's
wild ride with Mediacom
dates back to 1995, when
he founded the company in
his basement to jump-start
cable service to smaller
communities. Fast-forward
almost two decades, and he
now leads the country's eighth largest MSO,
providing broadband service to more than 1.3
million customers. Commisso's always looking
to the future, driving Mediacom innovation in
both consumer services and the burgeoning
Mediacom Business, which is growing through
local outreach across the company's primarily
Midwestern and southeastern territories.
Why them? The secret behind Scripps' frenzied growth-shares rose 50%
in 2012-is the visionary leadership behind it. At the top stand Lansing and
Lowe, media czars who led SNI to double-digit increase in advertising, affiliate
and digital advertising revenue in the first half of 2012. They continue to
relentlessly push into new growth areas, raising the bar on lifestyle and reality
programming that spans demographics, and partnering to extend Scripps'
network's brands with Food Network Magazine and more recently HGTV
Magazine aimed at furniture fashionistas. Couple those accomplishments with
Scripps' record ratings, and you've got one heck of a year.
Lowe
The one topping that should never be put on a hot dog: Mayonnaise
My favorite restaurant: Per Se
Worst thing I've ever heard someone say in a meeting: " We can't do that. "
Bands I would actually go see live: Train and Coldplay
My favorite business and/or motivational book: Grow: How Ideals
Power Growth and Profit by Jim Stengel
My favorite vacation spot: Lake Como
Lansing
My favorite restaurant: Geoffrey Zakarian's Lamb's Club, Midtown Manhattan
The one thing I tell my kids about success in life: Find something &
somebody you love-the rest will take care of itself.
Bands I would actually go see live: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street
Band, Jimmy Buffett, Zac Brown Band.
My favorite business and/or motivational book: The Innovator's
Dilemma by Clayton Christensen
Favorite Vacation Spot: With family in Northern Wisconsin.
CableFAX: The Magazine
December 2012
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Cablefax The Magazine - December 2012

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