DENVER--Hearts were heavy here on Tuesday (Jan. 31), as word spread that Angela Rinaldo, vice president of video operations for Charter, and a beloved colleague and friend within the Denver cable community, had died of complications related to breast cancer.
She was 51.
Rinaldo was selected by the editors of Multichannel News as its 2015 Technology Woman of the Year, in the operator category, and was named 2014 Tech Woman of the Year by the Rocky Mountain chapter of Women In Cable Telecommunications.
A single and devoted mother to two sons, Colton (13) and Garrett (9) Plomondon, Rinaldo was a beacon of bravery to all who knew her -- especially as she somehow slipstreamed what became the fight for her life into what was already a heavy schedule. She worked up until the day before she died, colleagues said.
At Charter, Rinaldo built a team of high performing engineers who focused on “hardening” the existing video environment for resiliency, said colleague Charlotte Field, senior VP of application platform operations for Charter. Rinaldo also guided the planning, deployment and ongoing support of new technologies, including Charter’s cloud-based “Spectrum” guide, and its next generation VOD ecosystem, Field said.
Prior to her role at Charter, Rinaldo developed technologies for Comcast that helped transform operations, including the award-winning “Scout” and “Flux” techniques that located plant issues before they were customer-impacting, noted Larry Wolcott, fellow and distinguished engineer at Comcast. The techniques are now part of industry standards including the DOCSIS Proactive Network Maintenance program.
Mostly, she is remembered for her positive influence on her staff and colleagues. “Rarely do we encounter someone with such a combination of heart and intellect,” said Wolcott, who met his wife, Marisa, through Rinaldo. The two subsequently named a twin son, Angelo, after her. “We consider her the patron saint of our family -- she had a remarkable skill of seeing the unique gifts within all of us, giving us courage to bring them forward,” Wolcott said.
“Throughout her career, she was a mentor who influenced many men and women,” said Field. “She was a brilliant technologist, extraordinary leader, generous colleague, loyal friend, and devoted mother -- passionate about her team and her boys.”
We will update this post with details about the service and any memorials.
