Ralph Martinez
Martinez leads Comcast’s Houston region, which consists of 63 communities and a workforce of 2,500 employees, and he oversees operations, financial performance and customer service throughout the area. Employing a style that encourages the personal and professional development of his employees and colleagues, he inspires his team to usher the region toward success— specifically in the areas of video and high-speed Internet growth. Martinez sees cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce as not only the right thing to do, but also “the best way to run a business… Our leaders make it a top priority and have individual goals that tie directly to it. I’m proud to say that our leadership team here in Houston is more than 70 percent diverse.”
What grade do you give the cable industry on diversity and why?
While the cable industry has embraced the importance of diversity, there is room for improvement. Cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce is not only the right thing to do but the best way to run a business. In the West Division of Comcast, we recognize, celebrate and support diversity and inclusion, which is at the very heart of our culture. Our leaders make it a top priority and have individual goals that tie directly to it. I’m proud to say that our leadership team here in Houston is more than 70 percent diverse. Employee Resource Groups have also been created that empower employees to drive exceptional business results and support an inclusive company culture. They include Out @ Comcast, UNIDOS @ Comcast, Women in Tech Ops and Veterans Network @ Comcast. These groups assist in identifying best practices, serve as an additional resource for attracting, promoting and retaining the best talent at all levels, and provide professional and leadership development for members.
The technology that will most benefit cable over the next year is…
The capabilities of DOCSIS 3.1 are incredibly exciting since it will enable greater capacity and speed, with support for up to 50 percent more data throughput over the same spectrum. It will allow us the ability to deliver up to 10 Gbit/s speeds in the downstream and 1 to 2 Gbit/s in the upstream.
My personal election campaign slogan would be…
Be Bold, Be Bright and Be Effective.
