December 12, 2007

Rise of the CIOs

Name: Andrew Baer
Title: SVP/CIO, Comcast
Age: 48
Years in Industry: “1 in cable, 17 in telecom and media.”

Name: Frank Boncimino
Title: CIO, Time Warner Cable

Why Them? It may seem a bit controversial, but we’re reserving a high ranking for the unsung heroes of the back office—the unappreciated, underrated and underpaid (you can thank us later for that one, guys) CIOs who roll up their sleeves every day to do things most of us couldn’t begin to comprehend. We don’t have space to recognize them all, so we’re letting Baer and Boncimino carry the mantle. These guys (and gals) aren’t just watching over server bays anymore. On the MSO side, they are doing things like creating software tools for CSRs to help them upsell the bundle. On the programming side, CIOs are helping to repurpose content for the Web and even mobile applications. In other words, a good CIO these days can greatly affect your bottom line. Know them. Love them. Be glad you don’t have to understand what they do.  MG

 

Andrew Baer
The cable industry’s biggest challenge in 2008 is: “Improving customer satisfaction.”
In my free time, I like to: “Boating on the Chesapeake Bay.”
Favorite restaurant: “Charleston (in Baltimore)”
Favorite city: “London”
Favorite movie: Remember the Titans and Casablanca
Favorite sports team: “University of Maryland Terrapins”