Cox Communications kicked off the New Year by promoting three long-time executives — Len Barlik, Colleen Langner and Mark Lawson —  to key management roles, the company said Wednesday.

Barlik, formerly executive VP and chief operations officer, has been named chief technology officer, succeeding Kevin Hart, who was named CEO of Cox-owned fiber provider Segra earlier this week. Langner, who has previously served as EVP and chief marketing and sales officer, becomes chief operating officer; and Lawson, formerly senior VP of digital, moves into the executive VP and chief marketing and sales officer role. 

Barlik joined Cox in 2010 as EVP of product development and management and during that tenure helped launch the company’s flagship video product Contour, its ultra-high-speed broadband product Gigablast and its Homelife home security and automation portfolio. As CTO, Barlik will oversee product and technology innovation and the development of new products and services for both residential and commercial customers. He will also assume leadership of the Cox Network Transformation initiative, the company’s billion-dollar project to support future residential and business applications.  

“Len is a true innovator with a proven track record of bringing compelling new products and services to market that deliver superior customer experiences and drive revenue growth,” Cox Communications CEO Mark Greatrex said in a press release. “His ability to take a long-range, strategic vision, create a sense of urgency and move organizations to deliver on strategy makes him the natural choice to shape the future of product and technology development at Cox.”

A 26-year veteran of Cox Communications, Langner has held several senior leadership roles in the company, including SVP of field operations, with overall responsibility for field operations and vendor management. Langner also led marketing operations for the company, where she drove residential marketing strategy and execution nationwide. 

“Colleen built an intimate knowledge of our markets, our customers and what it takes to support the services we sell,” Greatrex said in the release. “Her leadership experience across our regions gives her great perspective and a well-rounded view of our business that serves our Senior Team well.”

Lawson joined Cox Communications about eight years ago, leading the company’s digital marketing and helping to digitize sales, customer care and, more recently, customer retention and base management. 

“We are moving rapidly to more digital customer journeys and interactive services and Mark is a top-notch digital expert who already has helped us blaze trails in the digital realm,” Greatrex said in the release. “He will be a tremendous asset to our senior leadership team, lending his digital vision and expertise to our growth and business strategy.”

Cox Communications said it has promoted Colleen Langner to executive VP and chief marketing and sales officer and Jeff Breaux to executive VP of Cox Business. Both will report to incoming president Mark Greatrex, who is scheduled to replace the retiring president Patrick Esser at the end of the year. 

Langner, a 2017 Multichannel News Wonder Woman, was previously senior VP of field operations for Cox, and in her new role succeeds Greatrex who held the position for a decade. Langner has more than two decades of experience leading marketing and sales teams at the regional and national levels and in her new role will be responsible for leading the company’s residential sales team and marketing activities.

Breaux has been with Cox Business for more than seven years, most recently as senior VP of sales. In his new position he will oversee Cox Business’s commercial solutions portfolio, including sales, operations, customer experience, product development and marketing for business customers, wholesale services for telecom carriers, as well as investment and acquisition of related B2B adjacent businesses.

“Colleen and Jeff have both proven themselves as extremely talented leaders who drive competitive results and motivate and inspire others around them,” Greatrex said in a statement. “With these two exemplary additions, our Cox senior leadership team is now in place. I’m ready to hit the ground running with this amazing group. I have the utmost confidence in their leadership abilities to make our plan and use our products and services to create increasingly important connections for residential and business customers.”

Cox Communications said Monday that long-time president and CEO Patrick Esser will retire effective Dec. 31, after 15 years at the helm. He will be replaced by EVP and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Mark Greatrex who will be named president.

"I've always been fascinated by the cable business and have been fortunate to find a special family-owned company that lives its values," Esser said in a press release. "I'm grateful for the tremendous opportunities I've been given at Cox and the numerous mentors and committed peers that have helped me along this unbelievable ride of a lifetime."

Esser, 64, joined Cox in 1979 as director of programming at its Hampton Roads,  Va., operation and steadily moved up the ranks, being named chief operating officer in 2001.  He became CEO in 2006 after then-CEO James Robbins retired. During Esser’s tenure, Cox has more than doubled its business to become the largest private telecom company in the country, serving nearly seven million homes and businesses across 18 states. 

In addition, Esser serves as chair of the C-SPAN board and on the board of directors of CableLabs and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), i an adviser to the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications and on the national Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. 

In 2007, Multichannel News named Esser its first "Executive of the Year" and in 2013, he was awarded the distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership — the industry's highest honor. 

"We are extremely thankful to Pat Esser for his leadership at Cox Communications," said Alex Taylor, president and CEO of Cox Enterprises, Cox Communications’ parent. "He has grown the business consistently over the years. Even more meaningfully he has done it in the right way — by treating people well and making a positive impact in our communities. Pat is an extraordinary leader."

Taylor added that Greatrex, 58, will be "a great leader for the next chapter in Cox Communications' evolution. He is a wonderful executive and person. I have confidence he will continue to grow the business and will continue our commitment to making the company an exemplary corporate citizen."

Greatrex joined Cox in 2011 as chief marketing officer and was promoted to EVP  in 2015. Greatrex helped to develop the Cox brand to highlight its technology and brought to market innovations like Gigablast, Contour TV and Panoramic Wifi. 

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"I am honored to be leading this very special company with a celebrated history, and an exciting future full of optimism and great momentum," Greatrex said in a press release. "We have a winning strategy and I look forward to amplifying the incredible values of the Cox family and the mission to improve the lives of the next generation."

Esser said he is leaving the company in good hands.

“Mark is a strong and visionary leader who will sustain and amplify the momentum he's helped to achieve in the industry,” Esser said in the press release. “His energy, creativity and sharp strategic sensibilities will drive continued innovation, excellence and passion for our customers. I wish him the best as he moves into his new role."

Longtime Cox Communications CEO Patrick Esser will step down at the end of the year and be replaced by Mark Greatrex, VP and chief sales and marketing officer for the privately held cable company.

Joining Cox in 1979 as director of programming in Hampton Roads, Va., Esser served as Cox's chief executive since 2006, guiding the company to become the biggest privately held MSO in the U.S., serving 7 million homes and businesses across 18 states. He was part of the original management team that founded Cox's advertising sales division now known as Cox Media.

"We are extremely thankful to Pat Esser for his leadership at Cox Communications," said Alex Taylor, president and chief executive officer of Cox Enterprises, the parent company of Cox Communications. "He has grown the business consistently over the years. Even more meaningfully he has done it in the right way — by treating people well and making a positive impact in our communities. Pat is an extraordinary leader."

Greatrex, meanwhile, joined Cox in 2011 and currently leads its residential sales team and marketing activities. He's credited by Cox for transforming the company's marketing and sales functions to create a highly competitive team that has achieved significant growth in broadband market share.

Technology initiatives launched under Greatrex's watch include Gigablast, Contour TV and Panoramic Wifi. 

Greatrex leads Cox's Environmental Council that supports conservation efforts and serves on the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper board. Additionally, he is the founding executive sponsor of Cox's Young Professionals employee resource group.

"Mark is going to be a great leader for the next chapter in Cox Communications' evolution," Taylor added. "He is a wonderful executive and person. I have confidence he will continue to grow the business and will continue our commitment to making the company an exemplary corporate citizen."

Cox Communications has promoted sales and marketing officer Mark Greatrex to executive vice president, underscoring the importance of data-driven marketing and sales strategy at the cable company in today's hypercompetitive telecommunications marketplace, the company said. He joined Cox in 2011 and built new departments dedicated to consumer insights, marketing analytics, base management, retention strategy and segmentation – to better understand consumer expectations and more efficiently meet them, Cox said. More recently, Greatrex led the transformation of the sales and marketing functions to build an even higher performing team, the company said. To enable stronger sales performance, he consolidated distributed sales and retention call centers into four large scale centers of excellence that are already driving the best customer growth in seven years.

Greatrex previously served as senior vice president of global still beverages at The Coca Cola Company, executive vice president of brand marketing at America Online and in various brand and management roles at Unilever PLC.

He joins other EVPs at Cox: Kevin Hart, chief technology officer; Asheesh Saksena, chief strategy officer; Jill Campbell, chief operating officer; Mark Bowser, chief financial officer; Len Barlik, product development and management (currently in interim role as human resources EVP as well, filling a vacant position).

Cox also made several other mid-year officer promotions: Johannes Eckert to senior vice president, IT and Network; Keith Crandall to vice president, Customer Care, Partner Performance; Michael Grover to vice president, Government Affairs and Carolyn Hergert to vice president, Internal Communications, Public Affairs.