Cablefax The Magazine - July 2011 - 23

MSO EXECUTIVE TO WATCH
Marva Johnson
Corporate VP, Bright House Networks
When Marva Johnson came over to cable from telecommunications
in 2006, she wanted to leverage her years of telephony
experience. And by all accounts, she has done exactly
that. Her previous work at Supra Telecommunications (a
subsidiary of FDN Communications) and KMC Telecommunications
were instrumental in expanding the reach of Bright
House's telephony services. Not to mention, her passion for
educating key policy makers, legislators and regulators on
the business and her customers' needs is contagious. Just
get her talking.
" I love the opportunity to bridge discussions, " says Johnson,
currently corporate VP for government and industry
affairs. She is, of course, in the right industry for that. One
moment she's helping to shape intercarrier compensation
reform, and another she's overseeing community-driven
programs to expand broadband access, for which Bright
House received an " Outstanding Community Connector
Award " from partner organization " One Community. " It
takes being an excellent communicator-and she defi nitely
has the skills. Says Nomi Bergman, president of Bright
House: " Marva is an incredibly warm and thoughtful person
who has great passion for our industry's capabilities. " And
her " charming and collaborative approach, "
says boss Kevin Hyman,
EVP of cable operations, makes
her a joy to work with.
Before Johnson jumped from
telecommunications, she'd
been eyeing cable's potential-
and watching for an opportunity.
" One of the things I learned
in previous roles, " she says,
" is that owning your own
network is essential to
being successful as a
provider of any technology-driven
service or
application. " Follow the
CableFAX: The Magazine
July 2011
network owners she did, and since then, she has helped build
the internal infrastructure for Bright House's voice services
customer base, improve service quality and reduce costs.
Thanks to her contribution, the company now has more than
1 million voice subs-a milestone it reached in March-and
has landed fi ve JD Power and Associates awards for their
Home Phone service since its implementation.
Another signifi cant factor that contributes to her
success-and one of the reasons she's our Executive to
Watch-is her ability to educate legislators and regulators.
" Her keen understanding of the industry's converging
network technology and the depth of her regulatory
and policy experience has made Marva a very valuable
resource for our company, " says Bergman. At this year's
National Conference of State Legislatures conference, for
instance, she had the chance to her exhibit her bridging
chops. " We got to spotlight what we're doing to a), advance
the economy, and b), help drive our new services
to our consumers, " says Johnson. " As our network and
services converge, we need to ensure that the legislative
and regulatory framework doesn't impose undue burdens
on any service simply because of a difference in the technology
used to deliver it. " She sees the work as essential
to ensuring economic recovery through job creation, in
particular in her state of Florida, where unemployment is
higher than in other parts of the country. ■
-Kaylee Hultgren
FAST FACTS
■ Johnson's hobbies are her two children: 10-year-old Jordan
and 12-year-old Noah. When she actually finds spare
time, she loves to play golf.
■ On a personal level, Johnson's a big TV Everywhere fan.
" Watching anything, I want, any time I want to watch it-on
just about any device... that's the most exciting thing for me. "
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