48. Passing the Baton

Alexander “Netch” Netchvolodoff
Title: SVP, Cox Enterprises
Age: 70
Years in Industry: 16
Years Left in Industry: “Lamest of ducks”

Sandy Wilson
Title: VP, public policy, Cox Enterprises
Age: 47
Years in Industry: 12
Years left in the industry: “Many”
Last year: NR

Why Them? If you've spent much time in D.C., you've heard of Netch—as he’s affectionately known. You may not realize that this on-the-go, moderate Republican is a septuagenarian. “He’s 70, and he acts like he’s a Hill staffer. It’s amazing,” says a colleague. Netch, who was in fact a Hill staffer before joining Cox in the early ’90s, will retire this year and hand the baton to Sandy Wilson. She joined Cox in '94 after running the FCC’s now defunct Cable Bureau, and with mergers and telecom reform on deck, she’s got a busy 23 years ahead before she can call it quits. - AM

Alexander “Netch” Netchvoldodoff

What is your favorite word? "Love"
What is your least favorite word? "Hate"
What turns you on? "A good laugh"
What turns you off? "Braggadocio"
What sound do you love? "Music"
What sound do you hate? "Fingernails scraping against a blackboard"
What profession other than yours would like to attempt? "Teaching"
What profession would you not like to participate in? "Psychiatry; it would make me too sad"
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? "He tried."

Sandy Wilson

I knew the cable industry was for me when: "It hired me despite Rate Regulation I and II"
Person I most admire in the cable industry and why: "Jim Kennedy for his commitment to the future of Cox Communications"
Top personal achievement in 2006: "Not blubbering when our eldest, Chris, was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force
In my free time, I like to: "Dig in the dirt and curse the deer (aka 'gardening')"
Favorite restaurant: "When your husband cooks as well as mine, why go out?"
Three things I would take with me to a desert island: "(1) Family, (2) Friends, (3) Well-stocked gourmet kitchen with wine cellar (see 'Favorite Restaurant,' above)"
Favorite sports team: "St. Albans Bulldogs"
I wish cable would: "Pay my bills for me"

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