Charter Communications said it has made two key personnel appointments, naming Rachel Welch as SVP, policy and external affairs and Mark Balsano as vice president, accessibility.
Welch joins Charter from Cox Enterprises, where she was vice president of government affairs and developed and implemented Cox Enterprises’ federal policy strategy. Prior to Cox, she served as SVP government affairs at Time Warner Cable.
As Charter’s SVP, policy and external affairs, she will lead the team responsible for developing the company’s public policy positions and building external partnerships to further shared policy objectives.
Welch will report to Catherine Bohigian, executive vice president of government affairs.
“I am thrilled that Rachel will be joining our team,” Bohigian said in a statement. “She brings exceptional talent and experience and will be a tremendous asset to Charter and our government affairs organization.”
Welch joins Charter from Cox Enterprises, a leading communications, media and automotive services company. At Cox, Welch served as vice president of government affairs and developed and implemented Cox Enterprises’ federal policy strategy. Prior to working at Cox, Welch was senior vice president, government relations for the former Time Warner Cable overseeing its policy initiatives before Congress, the Administration and the States and managing a team of over 60 government relations professionals.
Balsano joins Charter from AT&T and will be responsible for planning, strategy and execution of accessibility efforts and universal design for Charter’s products and services to enhance the overall experience for customers, including those with disabilities. He will report to Peter Brown, vice president, design, and be based in Denver, Colo.
“We are very excited to have Mark join Charter’s Accessibility team,” Brown said in a statement. “His passion, competitive instinct and deep roots in the Accessibility community will play a crucial role in driving our efforts to improve and create new experiences for customers. Inclusive design is an integral part of our strategy of delivering a broad range of innovative user benefits to our entire customer base; Mark’s leadership and expertise reflect that commitment.”
Prior to Charter, Mark was assistant vice president, compliance for AT&T where he was integral in the establishment of AT&T’s Corporate Accessibility Technology Office (CATO) and served as their deputy chief accessibility officer from 2012 to 2017.
