MAKE SURE YOU SCROLL DOWN FOR OTHER BLOG UPDATES!
Comcast Corporation, one of the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications services, has promoted Hank Fore to Regional Vice President of the Oregon/SW Washington region. Fore will report directly to Comcast West Division President Steve White and will oversee all aspects of Comcast’s video, high-speed Internet and telephone operations from Longview, WA to Eugene, OR, serving more than 600,000 customers and managing about 2,100 employees. Fore begins his new role immediately and will be based in the company’s Beaverton, Oregon office.
Fore joins Oregon from Comcast’s East Bay Area market in California, where he most recently served as Area Vice President. In this position, he held management responsibilities for about 500,000 customers and 1,100 employees. Under Fore’s leadership, he immediately focused on improving the customer experience, dramatically improving the local technical operations metrics, including on time arrival of technicians and repeat trouble calls. He successfully launched a number of advanced services to his customers, adding Comcast Digital Voice, expanding HD and VOD options, and increasing high-speed internet speeds. In addition, Fore’s employees helped vote Comcast as a “Best Place to Work” for three consecutive years in The San Francisco Business Times, East Bay Business Times and the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.
“I’m honored to join such a customer-focused and technologically innovative team,” Fore said. “I look forward to working with Comcast’s outstanding employees in Oregon & Southwest Washington to further improve Comcast’s relationship with our customers, and bring them even more exciting technologies and entertainment.”
Fore is a West Point graduate and began his distinguished career with the United States Armed Forces, holding numerous positions. Ultimately he achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army before deciding to retire to pursue a career in the private sector, serving as an executive in technology roles at Times Mirror and International Network Services. Prior to joining Comcast, Fore served as a Regional Vice President at Lucent Technologies, where he oversaw technical support services.
In making the announcement, White stated, “Hank’s leadership skills and innovation are a perfect match for the dynamic Oregon/SW Washington market, and his customer focus will deliver great results in all aspects of the business.”
Fore earned a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from West Point and a master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California.
Pictured: Hank Fore, Regional Vice President, Comcast Oregon/SW Washington. (PRNewsFoto/Comcast Corporation).
MAKE SURE YOU SCROLL DOWN FOR OTHER BLOG UPDATES!
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, ever since launching his partnership with Gaithersburg, Md.-based Sodexo USA in 2006, has made good on his game plan to grow Sodexo-Magic, the contract foodservice business they operate together. The former L.A. Laker was in New York City on Tuesday to debut Sodexo-Magic’s newly renovated MSNBC.com Digital Cafe at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. During the event, he sat down with Nation’s Restaurant News to discuss his plans for the business and how the recession is affecting the foodservice industry. He also addressed the scandal surrounding his friend and golf great Tiger Woods.
How has your food service business evolved in the three years since Sodexo-Magic was formed?
It’s really been amazing. We have 16 accounts now, and when you think about it, they are with some of the biggest companies in America, including John Deere and Blue Cross Blue Shield. We’ve opened our first MarketPlace [a standalone restaurant] in Jersey City, and we operate a Sub Connection shop on the Florida A&M campus. We also do the foodservice at Mount Sinai hospital; it’s the first hospital contract we have [in New York City].
You are doing a number of outreach programs in conjunction with Mount Sinai, right?
We’ve been able to do great work with them up in Harlem. It’s an opportunity to give back to the community. We want to partner with Mount Sinai to do things like health fairs, give free check-ups and also focus on the problems of diabetes and obesity, which affect that community in a big way. I’m so excited about what our partnership with Mount Sinai brings to the table.
How has the recession affected your business?
It really hasn’t; we’ve had steady growth and we’re in a great position [to respond to] a lot of RFPs [requests for proposal] that are out there. We’re feeling really good about winning more contracts in the weeks ahead.
So there are a lot of RFPs circulating out there, despite the tough economy?
Yes. People still need food service; the economy is actually helping our business.
How so?
Many schools that used to be self-op are now letting someone else do it. They’re saving money. A lot of colleges, too, are outsourcing their foodservice rather than lose money by doing it themselves.
How is school food service evolving?
It is changing a lot. School systems are offering healthy choices and taking the sodas out. But it’s not only that. It’s also about the way the cafeterias look. If the kids come into the cafeterias and they look old, they won’t want to be there. Instead, they’ll hang out at the fast-food joint down the street. Kids want to hang out and lounge with their friends so we’ve got to make it cool for them while serving healthy foods.
What is the most important thing you ask of your employees?
I make sure to talk to them and make sure they bring the best customer service. People want two things: great customer service and for the place to be clean. If we provide both of those things, we win.
How do you manage to do so much — run your business, fundraising, personal appearances, etc?
I have a great executive team. If I didn’t, I couldn’t do all of this. I understand how to delegate, but I’m still very involved. I’m a control freak.
Lately, Tiger Woods has been in the news quite a bit. How do you think he has handled his situation?
Tiger is a friend and I really admire and respect him. That said, on the Friday after Thanksgiving he should have come out and said he made a mistake. As long as he doesn’t come out, the stories will keep going. He should come out, just like I did. I came out, it happened, and I moved on. Kobe Bryant did the same thing. Tiger Woods is a world-renowned sports figure. He should just say, ‘I’m not perfect ... I’m working on this with my wife,’ and the whole thing would turn around.
Do we hold our sports heroes up to too high a standard?
Of course we do. Hey, we make mistakes, too. But there is one great thing about Americans: we are very forgiving and there’s always another story. Tiger’s story replaced Michael Jackson’s. There’ll always be another story.
Contact Elissa Elan at eelan@nrn.com.
