Mission Accomplished
Powell Shapes Leadership Path at NCTA
By Amy Maclean
If you ask Michael Powell to reflect on his memories of running one of the country’s largest trade associations, don’t expect him to regale you with stories of backroom meetings with Washington powerbrokers or all-night legislative strategy sessions.
When he was considering taking the job leading NCTA, he felt hesitant for a long time, uncertain if he wanted the title of lobbyist attached to his name. He asked his father, the late Colin Powell, Secretary of State under George W. Bush, for his opinion. “He said you have the wrong idea—you’re a trade association CEO. You’re not a K Street paid-for-hire. You’re running an association,” Powell recalls. “Fifteen years later, that’s what I would tell the next CEO. You are a CEO, you are not the top lobbyist. And your value and your talent will be whether you build great teams and empower and inspire them to do great work. And to fight hard, but fight with their industries’ best interests, with a degree of honor.”
There have been plenty of fights since Powell joined the association in 2011—from multiple net neutrality battles to ongoing spectrum wars to varying opinions over how to best bring broadband to the unserved. But when the retiring NCTA chief reflects on his job, he estimates he spends about 75% of his time on people development. “I am coaching, I am hiring. I am at HR and finance. I am worrying about whether we are going to renovate the theater, and is that strategically important?” he says. “I’m worrying about whether in the new budget we should invest more in x and y. I spend a lot of time thinking strategically, not tactically. I think my job is to be the strategist, not to be the tactician.”
His legacy—including eight years at the FCC, with the majority of that time as chairman—is widely respected by the associations’ cable operator, TV programmer and technology members. “In his decades of leadership, from the FCC to the NCTA, Michael has played a pivotal role in bringing Americans everything the internet has to offer,” says Dave Watson, CEO of Connectivity and Platforms at Comcast. “His vision helped accelerate our nation’s adoption of essential technologies like broadband, smartphones and WiFi networks, forever changing the way we connect and live. We are grateful for all he has done for the industry and the country during this incredibly dynamic time.”
During Powell’s time at NCTA, he’s seen a lot—from the introduction and rise of TikTok to 5G’s explosion and cable’s own mobile business growth. Streaming video has surged as linear has declined. Fiber-to-the-home and DOCSIS 4.0 deployments are delivering faster speeds with better latency than ever before. When he signed on to the role, he never expected to stay more than three to five years. Instead, it’ll be nearly 15 when he leaves this fall.
He credits the extended stay to the fantastic community of people within NCTA, including its members. “Unlike so many trade associations, ours is really still CEO run. I get to work with top notch colleagues who are the bosses of their companies, not their general counsels or senior VPs,” Powell says. “I’ve gotten to be friends with everyone from [former ESPN President] George Bodenheimer to [Ex-Charter CEO] Tom Rutledge to [Comcast CEO] Brian Roberts. People don’t realize how different that is. I get to have a board, kind of an assembly of real bosses, and I get to learn from them and they value my opinion. That’s very rewarding.”
While he’s modest, Powell likes to think he helped the industry shed the Jim Carrey Cable Guy image it was shackled by when he started the role. “I do feel like, even though it’s not a fully completed project, that we helped pull the industry out of this kind of hole of inferiority, and put them back at the front seat of the technology community and the industry. And we really rebranded our identity from a dying video service to a cutting-edge infrastructure service. They did it with product, and I think we did it with narrative and initiative,” he says. Under his leadership, the association rebranded in 2016 from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association to NCTA – The Internet & Television Association.
“When I came to this industry, it had its head down, not enough bravado,” Powell says. “This is garbage. This is one of the most innovative industries in the world. It’s one of the greatest American success stories. It’s innovated at every pivotal point. When everybody said they were dead, they pivoted and revived themselves. I think it’s a great American industry—by the way, an all-American industry before it was cool.”
Part of Powell’s legacy is helping cable tell its story—whether through turning a technical standard like DOCSIS into the easy-to-understand 10G, holding symposiums that look at the possibilities behind technology, using a narrative-driven approach to policy, including in his own testimonies before Congress, and last year’s release of the short film “Every Last Mile” detailing what goes into connecting rural America. “The idea that this town runs on logic is bullshit,” he says of Washington. “We had to turn ourselves into a good storytelling machine. And I think we really did a good job of that. I think when we go to the Hill people know we’re going to come and reduce this to its essence. It’s going to be clear, it’s going to be comprehensible and it’s going to be a story that means something to me.”
For over 15 years, Dane Snowden saw Powell’s work first hand, first at the FCC as his Chief of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau and then at NCTA as his Chief of Staff and later COO. “His leadership is defined by intelligence, courage and an unwavering passion for the cable industry. But what truly set Michael apart was his ability to see where the puck was going—always anticipating the next shift in policy, technology or public perception, and positioning the industry to lead, not follow,” Snowden says of his former boss. “His secret? A deep intellectual curiosity and a relentless commitment to understanding every nuance of an issue. No one came to the table better prepared. He encouraged that same rigor from his team—as a leader who shaped, challenged, mentored and elevated those around him. Working with Michael wasn’t just a professional experience—it was a masterclass in leadership, and a gift I carry with me to this day.”
Powell’s office in NCTA’s headquarters on Massachusetts Avenue is filled with reminders of exemplary leadership and framed moments of magnitude, both personal and professional. There is Buffalo Soldier artwork, something his father collected. The gavel from his FCC chairman days. His Cable TV Pioneer plaque sits near a window. A calvary sword from his time in the U.S. Army that he was delayed in receiving because of an injury that curtailed his military career. Among the most meaningful memorabilia are his two presidential commissions for serving on the FCC that are signed by the President and Secretary of State. When Powell got his second commission from Bush, his father was the Secretary of State. Look closely at Colin Powell’s signature and you’ll see a smiley face inside it. Hints of his mom and dad are hidden all around the office. “I need my parents here,” he says, holding a framed gift someone sent of himself and his father speaking at the same Virginia Military Institute conference years apart.
Reflecting on his time at NCTA, he takes pride in the fact that when a policy fight didn’t go the industry’s way, he and his team still found a way to win, finding ways for companies to navigate the new reality and adapt. But what he’s most proud of is creating a culture around competency, curiosity, compassion and creativity that thrives within NCTA’s walls and with its members.
“My dad was right. This job isn’t cheap. I don’t think of myself as a lobbyist. I think of myself as a CEO. When somebody says, ‘What do you do?’ I say, ‘I am the CEO. I run this ship,’” he says. “I think I’m a good storyteller, but I want to be a leader, and that means leading people. And so, yeah, I’m very introspective, more than extrospective. But at the same time, I want to win. And I think we’ve won. I’ve done net neutrality 25 times, and I can retire, because it’s freaking finally dead, I think.”
Fast Fax
- Powell was nominated to the FCC by President Bill Clinton and sworn in on November 3, 1997. He was designated its chair by President George W. Bush in January 2001 and continued in that capacity until April 2005.
- He serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Mayo Clinic, The William and Mary Endowment Board and America’s Promise Alliance. At America’s Promise, he co-chairs the Grad Nation project, an effort to address the high school dropout crisis.
- Powell replaced NCTA President/CEO Kyle McSlarrow in April 2011 as the association’s top executive. In February, he announced plans to retire later this year.