December 10, 2009

CableFAX: 35. The Closer: Melinda Witmer

Melinda Witmer

Title: EVP/Chief Programming Officer, Time Warner Cable
Age: Younger by the day
Education: BS. Accounting/Finance, U of AZ; JD, U of PA
Social Media Quotient: 1

Why Her? Witmer has emerged as one of cable MSOs’ most creative negotiators. "Let’s re-think this..." is a common Witmer refrain, demonstrating her willingness to shake things up to achieve a successful negotiation. More than that, her sense of humor is a key part of her style.

Year Ahead:

The economy is tough to predict as is the success of TV Everywhere.

Drink of Choice: Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee, large, preferably intravenous.

Trait I Most Admire in People: Creativity, integrity and fearlessness, but lately I find myself also admiring people who can tune out all the noise and just make the donuts.

Childhood Hero: A tie between Chris Evert, Walt Disney and Amelia Earhart

Favorite TV Show: America’s Funniest Home Videos - it was YouTube before YouTube was YouTube. It’s the only show that consistently makes me laugh hard enough to cry.

Best Business Advice: I have been fortunate to have been given a lot of great advice...and I draw upon it frequently. Recently, I was told we should all try to "be a citizen of our industry." I’m not entirely sure yet if that is "best advice" or even practical, but given how many challenges our industry faces daily it seemed pretty aspirational. The same person who gave me this advice added, "It takes people who genuinely care about an industry to make it human."