ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Wrapping up the 2008 CTAM Summit will be a panel of seasoned cablers, content and financial experts who will provide a directional compass for the industry’s long term strategies in a difficult economic environment.
The 2008 Summit will happen in Boston from November 9-11 and is co-chaired by Rogers Communications chief strategy officer Mike Lee and ESPN’s senior vice-president, marketing Katie Lacey. (Watch for an interview with the two of them – and CTAM president and CEO Char Beales next week on Cartt.ca)
The scheduled speakers are: Thomas M. Rutledge, COO, Cablevision Systems; Jessica Reif Cohen, first vice-president and managing director, Merrill Lynch; Robert Glaser, founder, chairman and CEO, RealNetworks; David Verklin, CEO, Canoe Ventures; David Zaslav, president and CEO, Discovery Communications.
And the moderator will be Bharat Anand, Henry R. Byers professor of business administration, Harvard Business School
This session will take place on Tuesday, November 11 from 12:15 to 2:15 pm, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.
It was also announced this week that Rutledge has been chosen as the recipient of the 2008 Grand TAM award. The Grand TAM is CTAM’s highest honor and is given in recognition of the time, talent and commitment made to ensure the future of the industry through marketing, education and leadership.
Rutledge is being honored for successfully guiding Cablevision through an intensely competitive market and for his winning customer-centric approach to business. “His leadership at NCTA and CableLabs is guiding the industry through a new era of change. As a member of the CTAM Educational Foundation Board of Directors he has advanced the curriculum for the Executive Management Program at the Harvard Business School to develop the next generation of cable leaders,” says the press release.
“Tom Rutledge is the perfect recipient of the Grand TAM award,” said CTAM president and CEO Char Beales. “He has set a high standard for operational leadership and is successfully building the business by delivering technologically superior products and value to customers in a highly competitive marketplace.”
A 30-year cable veteran, Rutledge has been with Cablevision since 2002. Under his watch, Cablevision introduced the Optimum Triple Play, one of the most successful marketing offers in the history of cable and the 2007 CTAM Hall of Fame inductee.
This offer has been emulated across the industry and has solidified cable’s status as the preferred provider of the three-product bundle. Cablevision has also completed a US$5 billion fibre optic network upgrade and become the first U.S. cable provider to offer high-definition video on demand and to deploy a VoIP phone product across its entire service area. Under Rutledge, Cablevision has also recently begun constructing the nation’s first Wi-Fi mesh wireless cable broadband network.
Rutledge is also responsible for overseeing the company’s cable television business; Rainbow Media, the company’s national programming business, which includes the AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and WEtv networks; Optimum Lightpath, the company’s fiber optic business telecommunications service; Clearview Cinemas; and certain Cablevision corporate functions. He also oversees News 12 Networks, Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation (RASCO) and Newsday, one of the nation’s largest daily newspapers, serving the New York area
For more on the Summit – and to register, since early bird discount rates expire on Friday, go to www.ctamsummit.com.
Keep an eye on www.ctam.ca too, as the Canadian chapter is putting together its own networking event at the Summit.
