July 27, 2010
By Amy Maclean
The industry respected Time Warner Cable VP of Public Affairs Bonnie Hathaway’s wish to retire quietly. She did so late in May. But we, her colleagues and friends prevailed upon Bonnie to accept a Lifetime Achievement honor from CableFAX: The Magazine. An interview celebrating Hathaway’s award can be found in the July edition of CableFAX: The Magazine.
Below are excerpts from Amy Maclean’s interview for the magazine with Bonnie that were not included in the print edition. In these excerpts Hathaway discusses her mentors and praises Time Warner Cable chief Glenn Britt for his promotion of public affairs.
Bonnie Hathaway
We’ve heard a lot of people refer to you as a mentor. Who were your mentors?
BH: I've had the good luck to have worked for and with some pretty terrific people in this industry, starting with Gail Sermersheim, who headed the HBO Atlanta office. She was one of the founders of WICT and an advocate for professional development and networking, and I learned the importance of being involved in something outside of our day-to-day jobs from Gail. Some of my fondest memories and closest friends were forged through WICT, CTPAA and Cable Positive.
Lynn Yaeger, my boss for most of my tenure at TWC, really schooled me on the operator side of the business and was a role model as a woman and an executive. We shared many memorable road trips across the TWC footprint where I learned the business literally from the ground up, and she was and is a strong advocate for making sure Public Affairs is part of a company's strategic mix.
Then, of course, there's Ellen East. It's been a real pleasure to cap off my career under her leadership and guidance. She made it possible for me to expand my horizons and broaden my perspectives when I thought there wasn't much more to learn—and her example of work/life balance shows that you can be a talented executive and still have a personal life.
What’s it been like working for Glenn Britt?
BH: It's been wonderful to work for a company that understands, values and supports public affairs, and that starts at the top with Glenn.
From his involvement at the highest levels of the industry and in Washington to his engagement with our 47,000 employees, Glenn leads by example. He gave the go-ahead for the development of a branded philanthropic focus for TWC that was a major departure from the way we had handled philanthropy in the past because he knew it was part of his plan for our company's future.
He also views public affairs as an integral part of our operations, not something that is tacked on as an afterthought, and I think that's pretty progressive thinking.
Do you plan to stay involved in cable? Do you have personal goals now that you’re retired, like taking up skydiving?
Actually I'm going kayaking and whale watching in August. Other than that my plans are not to have any plans for a while.
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