MCTV said it has named Katherine Gessner president, taking the helm of the Massillon, Ohio-based cable operator after her father Robert Gessner retired on April 13.

Katherine Gessner represents the third generation of her family to lead MCTV, founded in 1965 by her late grandfather Richard (Dick) Gessner as Massillon Cable TV. The company changed its name to MCTV in 2013. 

Robert Gessner, who has been a prominent figure in the industry for decades, joined MCTV in 1979 to manage the introduction of satellite services. His duties expanded over the years to include oversight of all operations at the cable company and he was named president in 2002.

Related: The Cable Center: Oral Histories: Richard and Robert Gessner 

“Katherine, without a doubt, will continue to take MCTV to new heights in the industry,” Robert Gessner said in a press release. “She has already made an impact and is being recognized as an influential leader in the cable and Internet industry.”

Katherine joined MCTV in 2013 as the sales and marketing manager and has held several roles at MCTV — most recently vice president of strategic planning and policy — before being named president. She has an MBA from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver and a background in management, business and strategic planning.

“I am endlessly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from my dad,” Katherine Gessner said in a press release. “He is generous with his wisdom and perspective and will continue to be an inspiration. It is humbling to step into his role and exciting to continue to build a bright future with such an incredible team. And don’t worry, my dad will continue to be a part of the MCTV family and surrounding communities, even during retirement.”

MCTV provides cable TV, phone, high-speed internet, security, TV advertising and dedicated fiber connection services to more than 50,000 homes and businesses in Stark, Wayne, Summit, Holmes, Tuscarawas, Jefferson and Columbiana counties in Ohio.  

“After 40 years driving the company forward, I have decided this is the right time for me personally and for the company, to transition to the next generation of leadership,” Robert Gessner said in the release. “I have seen enormous change in the telecommunications industry. I like to tell people that I am old, linear and analog and it is time for my highly-qualified, young, digital and distributive daughter Katherine to take the lead.”

Robert Gessner will remain active in the industry -- he is currently chairman of industry lobbying group America’s Communications Association (ACA) -- and has been recognized by local, state and national organizations for cable industry leadership, policy advocacy, community and economic development, and technology advances.

“Retiring now provides MCTV the best opportunity for our growing momentum to continue,” Gessner said. “I trust that with Katherine as the leader, MCTV and the MCTV family will continue turning my dreams, my father’s dreams and the Gessner family dreams into reality. It has been both my honor and privilege working with our team to create incredible memories and touch the lives of so many of our customers and community members.”

"It is hard to measure the impact he had on the company, the industry, so many people and the community at large." —Robert Gessner, MCTV president and son of company founder Richard Gessner

Massillon Cable TV (MCTV) founder Richard (Dick) Winfield Gessner, died at his home in Massillon, Ohio, on July 18. He was 90 years old.

Gessner, a 1950 graduate of Bucknell University, founded Massillon Cable TV with his wife Susan in 1965. Prior to cable TV, Gessner worked in radio and television in Philadelphia and New York, including a brief stint as a page at NBC. 

His first cable TV experience was obtaining franchises in upstate New York, helping the late Paul Harron Sr. launch Harron Communications' first cable systems. Recognized as a Cable Pioneer in 2009, Gessner was one of the founders of the Ohio Cable Television Association and served as chair of the Community Antenna Television Association.

Related | The Cable Center | Oral Histories: Richard and Robert Gessner

"MCTV was very special to my dad," his son Robert Gessner, , MCTV president, said in a statement. "Actually, it was the people at MCTV who were so special to him. He gave so much of his time and energy to the company. It is hard to measure the impact he had on the company, the industry, so many people and the community at large."

MCTV will continue to operate as a family business, now managed by second- and third-generation family members.

"In addition to being a great family man, caring neighbor and committed member of the Massillon community, Dick Gessner was a cable television visionary, a man who saw the future and pursued it with joy and dedication,” said American Cable Association CEO Matt Polka in a statement. “He had a long and legendary career that should inspire all of us.

"In MCTV, Dick Gessner built a company that today enables the Massillon community, including schools, businesses and anchor institutions from libraries to hospitals to universities, to have access to unrivaled video and communications services so necessary to ensure a fulfilling future in a connected world,” Polka continued. “That tradition of excellence established by Dick Gessner lives on through his son Bob Gessner, who is MCTV's current president and the American Cable Association's chair since 2014. That tradition is expected to continue with the next generation as Bob's daughter Katherine takes on more leadership responsibilities within the company." 

SCTE-ISBE president and CEO Mark Dzuban remembered Gessner for his insight and recognition of the importance of technology innovation to the industry as a whole. 

“Dick Gessner instilled in Massillon Cable a keen awareness of how cable’s organizations are connective tissue that keeps the industry together," Dzuban said in a statement. "He recognized how technology innovation could benefit operators of any size, and inspired support for SCTE•ISBE across the small- and mid-size operator community.”

Funeral details are available at the Paquelet Funeral Home website. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate memorial contributions to the Massillon Museum Capital Campaign (121 Lincoln Way E, Massillon, OH 44646).