Cable TV Pioneers Picks New Class of 25 Inductees

The Cable TV Pioneers named the 25 new members who will be inducted at the group's 57th annual banquet, in Denver, with the banquet date and venue still to be announced.

The group described the new group as including men and women who reflect the changing and expanding areas of the industry. (They include Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge as one standout.) Their ranks include CEOs, presidents, engineers, trade executives and others who have contributed to cable’s evolution and growth.

Also: Meet the 2022 Class of Cable TV Pioneers

“Our industry’s growth and diversity into new platforms, content and technologies are clearly evident by the members of the Class of 2023,” Jim Gleason, Cable TV Pioneer vice-chair, said in a statement. "This class clearly demonstrates the leadership, values and entrepreneurial success that continue to make the Cable Pioneers relevant.”

The 2023 class of Cable TV Pioneers, with company designations given by the Pioneers organization, is:

Amy Lynch, Comcast

Arturo Marquez, Fuse Media

Balan Nair, Liberty Latin America

Daniel McKay, C3 Broadband Integration

Diane Christman, The Cable Center

Dick Beahrs, Court TV (retired)

Eric Perbohner, Technetix (deceased)

Jack Burton, Broadband Success Partners

Jack Dyste, Mega Broadband (retired)

James Manchester, Comcast

Jeff Smith, Comcast

Jennifer Smardo, Comcast

Kathy Payne, Cox Communications

Keely Buchanan, Charter Communications

Marc Aldrich, Amazon Web Services

Michael Powell, NCTA

Pragash Pillai, Altice USA

Randy Wells, RBC Daniels (retired)

Shannon Saviers, GrowthLinx Advisors

Sheri Langford, Charter Communications

Stacey Slaughter, NCTI

Sudhir Ispahani, Alpha Global Partners

Susan Burgstiner, Marketing On Demand

Thomas Monaghan, Charter Communications

Tom Rutledge, Charter Communications

Cable TV Pioneers also is inducting a group representative of the numerous behind-scenes individuals whose entrepreneurialism and inventiveness have enabled new, critical services to launch at scale, the group said.

Yvette Kanouff, chair of the Pioneers, said: “By acknowledging these special inductees, we celebrate a huge group, who often go unrecognized for their innovations and standardizations, ranging from technology specifications, interoperability and testing to chip functionality. These advancements have enabled services including broadband, wifi, on demand and more.”

The Special Designated Pioneers for 2023, and their company affiliations as listed by the group, are:

Mike Emmendorfer, Calix Inc.

Jack Moran, Comcast/Futurewei Technologies (retired)

Jason Schnitzer, Applied Broadband

Lisa Denney, Broadcom

Niki Pantelias, Broadcom

Pawel Sowinski, Charter Communications

Robert Howald, Comcast

Steven Harris, SCTE

Tom Williams, CableLabs

The Cable TV Pioneers was founded in 1966 during the NCTA convention in Miami, Florida. The original fledgling group of 21 entrepreneurs has grown to more than 700 men and women over the past 50 years. For more information, visit CableTVPioneers.com.