Cablefax The Magazine - November 2010 - 38

Top Women in CableTech
WICT member, Pandiscia
helps ESPN business units
develop tech roadmaps.
Exciting Tech Trend:
" The convergence of broadcast
and information technologies
will allow fans to
get content anywhere, any
way and at any time; while
the connected business systems
will manage rights and
clearances, schedules and
advertising, enabling media,
rights holders and advertisers
additional reach. "
chief designer of the company's
TV, PC, Mac, Web and
mobile experiences.
Exciting Tech Trend:
" The opportunity to combine
over-the-top with Linear and
On Demand in a way that
highlights cable content,
while still making broadband
video accessible enough
that customers don't feel the
urge to add a broadbandonly
video device to their
A/V setup (which could hurt
their long-term relationship
with cable). "
Rebecca Rusk Lim
Senior Director,
Internet and Interactive
Development, Starz
A leading exponent of
interactive TV, the Betsy
Magness alum and WICT
member leads product
strategy for EBIF and
tru2way applications.
Exciting Tech Trend:
" The transition to IP video
and IP-delivered services
will be a game-changer for
cable. Interactive television,
better navigation and connected
devices will become
reality... As we partner the
personalized experience
with strong content choices,
the industry and the consumer
will benefit. "
Margret Schmidt
VP, User Experience,
TiVo
The winner of a Primetime
Emmy for Outstanding
Achievement in Interactive
TV, the 10-year TiVo vet is
38
Sandy Sexton
VP, Digital Ad Sales
Tech Planning,
Scripps Networks
At home in tech and on the
business side, the Betsy
Magness alum established
Scripps' IT Quality Assurance
Dept and its Enterprise
Business Intelligence Dept.
Exciting New Tech: " It's
Social Media. Businesses,
including cable, just now
are realizing how important
it is to listen to the 'buzz'
on social sites, discussion
groups and even on our
own network sites. Word
of mouth marketing has
always been valuable. We
have used focus groups
for new ideas, shows,
websites, and the like. Now
we add another component
by having 'Chief Listening
Officers' monitor what the
world (in any language) is
saying about our brands.
Social media is a company's
worst nightmare when
someone with a lot of Twitter
followers hears of a bad
experience. But, oh, how
nice when someone loves
the show they saw last night
on HGTV. "
cablefaxmag.com
Veronica Sheehan
SVP, Network Ops,
Turner Ent Group
Think you have pressure?
Sheehan's responsible for
leading tech, ops and traffic
systems that support the 7
Turner Broadcasting nets,
including TBS and TNT.
Challenges: " Our pipeline of
women leaders in technology areas
is the biggest need. We must
continue to build strong mentor
programs within our companies
and engineering schools. There
is still a decline in enrollment
of women in engineering programs;
if that trend continues,
we will lose any momentum we
might be gaining. "
An 18-year cable vet,
the former Discovery
Networks executive,
CTAM chapter president
and Betsy Magness alum
organized a companywide
holiday charitable event
to raise money to support
the homeless. She's also
a dedicated mentor of
young women with her own
foundation that has provided
college scholarships.
Mary 'Mimi' Thigpen
SVP, Strategy, Cox
Communications
Thigpen's portfolio stretches
across all of Cox's products
and services. She's also
involved in market strategies
for emerging technologies,
investments, wireless efforts
and is Cox's chief consultant
on companywide initiatives,
strategic planning and
development.
Carolyn Terry
VP, Hub Engineering,
SoCal, Time Warner Cable
Formerly with Comcast and
Adelphia, Terry's experience
runs the gamut of cable tech.
She's worked on and managed
projects in digital video, HSD,
VOD, ITV, HDTV, DVR and
telephony in markets with up to
2.5mln homes passed. A WICT
Woman to Watch in '06, Terry
received the WICT-SCTE Women
in Technology honor in '07.
Donna Thomas
SVP, Sales, Cable, Telco,
New Media Initiatives,
Ascent Media
Exciting Tech Trends:
" One of the most exciting
is the blurring of the lines
between the creator and the
consumer of entertainment
and communications
services. Our customers
expect global access to
digital content that spans
every aspect of their
business and personal lives,
much of which they create
or aggregate themselves.
This implies that we have to
keep pace with bandwidth
and storage capacity,
improve user interfaces for
search and navigation and
allow easy sharing while
simultaneously protecting
personal information. All
of these create unique
opportunities for the cable
industry to make complex
technology challenges simple
for our customers to enjoy. "
November 2010
Aimee Viles
VP, Emerging Media,
Bravo Media
Having honed her skills at
Ensequence and Vodafone,
Viles is well placed to
supervise Bravo's wireless,
interactive TV, gaming and
other emerging media
initiatives.
Exciting Tech Trend:
" Social television as enabled
through the growing
deployment of remote controlbased
experiences, use of
mobile technologies and new
widget platforms allow fans to
interact with each other and,
in some cases, talent during
their favorite shows. These
technologies are allowing
people to connect in real time
to create an instant live water
cooler while they are watching
the show. "
Sue Wante
VP, Technical
Operations, Greater
Boston Region, Comcast
Wante's summer promotion
doubled her load; she now
oversees 2,300 employees
who provide services to
nearly 2mln residential and
business customers. She
oversaw completion of the
huge digital upgrade.
Favorite Tech: " Having
true network convergence
on our IP platform and remote
authentication that will
allow us to deliver content
and products any place,
anytime, anywhere, on a
multitude of devices. " ■
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Cablefax The Magazine - November 2010

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