Earle MacKenzie

Title: EVP & COO, Shentel

Years in Cable: 40

Education: BBA, Accounting, The College of William & Mary

Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.

The year 2014 was a big one for MacKenzie and Shentel. The company announced that net postpaid subscriber additions for the fiscal year were 14,146, an increase of 30.6 percent from the previous year. Large credit goes to MacKenzie, who is responsible for Shentel’s daily operations of its subsidiaries. While some say he’s on the quiet side, most would agree that when he speaks—everybody listens.

I watch most programming on this device: TV

The biggest innovation in cable over the last year: The evolution of cloud-based vendors that can take the linear feed from a cable operator and provide a robust search and discovery experience for the user. We now need the digital rights to be able to deliver a robust line up outside the home.

Should the industry embrace or reject “virtual MSOs” and why? Embrace. With shrinking video margins, cable operators need to position ourselves as the preferred broadband provider and allow the customer to get programming from all sources. With the growing demand for data, in particular video, the customer will migrate to faster speeds and higher data packages with better operating margins.

I wish Congress would just… take control of making telecom and media policy back from the FCC and rewrite the 1992 Cable Act and the 1996 Telecom Act to reflect the realities of today’s marketplace and to provide safeguards to assure a level playing field for smaller operators.

My favorite business/motivational book: Marketing Warfare by Al Ries and Jack Trout, originally published in 1997 and updated in 2007. This book has influenced my marketing and sales strategies for the past 25 years.