John Wolfe, who has served nearly 30 years in Cox Communications's New England operations, has been named senior vice president and region manager in the Southwest, Cox's largest regional operation. Effective immediately, he succeeds Steve Rizley, another longtime Cox executive who ran the southwest region since 2001. Cox is looking for a replacement for Wolfe as Northeast regional manager and senior vice president.
Cox's Southwest region includes the Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas. Phoenix is expected to be the first market where Cox will introduce Gigabit Internet speeds, and Las Vegas metro area neighborhoods also are being aggressively upgraded, the company said. For an update on those developments, read this interview with Cox chief technology officer Kevin Hart published today at Multichannel.com.
"With his tremendous leadership abilities, combined with a strong sense for what it takes to compete in our industry, I am confident that John will ensure the Southwest region remains a focal point for aggressive investment, growth and innovation, starting with Cox's Gigabit Internet deployments this year," Paul Cronin, senior vice president of customer experience for Cox, said in a release. "Under John's direction, Cox will continue to lead Arizona and Nevada as a significant employer, community contributor and technology enabler."
Wolfe joined Cox in 1995 in connection with the company's Times Mirror acquisition. He led Cox's government-affairs, communications and corporate philanthropy in New England before being promoted to general manager in 2012, when he succeeded Cronin after he was promoted to his current corporate post.
Cox said Wolfe led the Northeast region to company-leading customer satisfaction scores in 2012 and 2013. Earlier in his career he was a public-information director at the then-National Cable Television Association and an editor at Cablevision magazine. He is also chairman of the New England Cable & Telecommunications Association (NECTA). He will relocate to Phoenix, the Cox southwest region's headquarters.
