Cablefax The Magazine - September 2017 - 28

THE INFLUENTIALS
Mark Allen
SVP, Customer Service
Operations
Comcast Cable
Allen has been heavily
involved in Comcast's
commitment to transforming
and improving
the customer experience. His " confi rm
everything " approach keeps Comcast
employees accountable for everything
from scheduling appointments to issuing
credits. Allen is developing new service
delivery and troubleshooting capabilities,
and also ensures employees are
knowledgeable about all products. He's
also cultivated business partnerships
with 7/11 and UPS to make bill paying
and equipment returns more convenient
for customers. His efforts have proved
the value of good customer service. " It's
become apparent that a great customer
experience integrates reliable cuttingedge
products, innovative service delivery
experiences all provided by engaged,
motivated employees, " he says.
Maria Arias
VP, Diversity &
Inclusion
Comcast Corporation
Arias' legal knowledge
and passion for
diversity make her the
right fi t for overseeing
Comcast's diversity & inclusion program,
where she focuses on governance, workforce,
supplier diversity, programming distribution,
content creation, and community
investment. Arias cautions, " Progress can
be undone if there is not a focus on inclusion-we
need to foster cultures where
every voice, even the softest one, is heard
equally. It matters that diverse talent feels
they can be themselves at work, and that
their unique perspectives are valued. "
Oduwole Wally Bakare
Area VP, Field
Operations
Charter
Communications
Bakare is celebrating
his fi rst-year anniversary
as area VP, fi eld
28
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operations for Charter in Anaheim, Calif.
He's responsible for the company's effi -
cient and effective operational performances
with a keen focus on unprofi table
transaction reductions, employee
and customer satisfaction. With more
than 20 years of experience in the cable
and communications industries, Bakare
was involved in series of post-acquisition
telephony operations integration
and management at Comcast Cable in
markets such as Washington DC, South
Florida, Richmond, Pittsburgh, L.A. and
Dallas. In his previous role, he successfully
launched Time Warner Cable Digital
Phone and other voice services in more
than four million homes in the Greater
Los Angeles area.
Florentina Balseca-Almonte
Director, Programming
Hispanic Information
Telecommunications
Network
Balseca-Almonte is
the longest-tenured
person at Hispanic
Information Telecommunications Network,
and the network's current look
and feel largely can be attributed to her
vision. She continually evolves HITN's
programming, which in turn evolves the
net's ratings increases, with an eye to
working with magnetic Hispanic producers
and editors on original content as
well as bringing buzzy shows to HITN.
For example, Balseca-Almonte recently
brought a Spanish-language version of
the BBC series " Click " to the network.
Carmen Bauza
EVP & Chief
Merchandising Officer
HSN
Expanding HSN's
proprietary offerings
and making genuine
connections with
customers is top of mind for former
Walmart exec Bauza. She manages
HSN's entire cross-category product
portfolio. She's been focusing on retaining
and acquiring customers across
channels, using research to understand
the HSN customer and where there is
September 2017
opportunity for growth. Bauza also has
introduced several tentpole events,
including a recent event around the
company's 40th anniversary. " Transactional
retail is a thing of the past, " Bauza
says. " Consumers today want experiences,
not just things. "
Donna Blackman
SVP, Business
Operations
BET Networks
Blackman was named
to her newly created
position earlier
this year. In this
role, she serves as the liaison for
internal BET Network departments
with Viacom Media Networks shared
services and handles long-range
planning, partnerships and fi nancial
strategies. When it comes to mentoring,
Blackman's secret ingredient is the
truth. " While I am a compassionate
leader and mentor, I'm a truth teller. I
share the truth of my experience, the
mistakes I have made, disappointments
I've encountered, and obstacles I have
had to overcome, " she says. " But as
a truth teller, I am also candid in my
feedback to others. "
Tamara Bowens
Group VP, Field
Marketing & Sales
Enablement
Spectrum Enterprise
Following a year-plus
stint at Charter as VP
of fi eld marketing,
Bowens returned to Spectrum, a division
of Charter, in June. She had previously
worked for Spectrum as its senior
director, customer lifecycle marketing
& customer experience. Bowens is a
results-driven exec with a proven track
record of creating innovative direct marketing
campaigns to generate revenue
and customer-centric programs and
processes to increase engagement and
loyalty. She's involved with numerous
arts and culture-related non-profi t organizations,
including Free Arts NYC, the
High Museum of Art and the National
Black Arts Festival.
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Cablefax The Magazine - September 2017

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