The Most Powerful Man in Philadelphia
It seems like the new building could signal a new direction for the city itself. A building filled with technologically innovative people — that says something different about Philadelphia than has been said in a long time. I hope you’re right, and I think you’re right. And we’re obviously jumping in with both feet. I look at it as the same question that relates to Comcast: Where are we going? And for the last 50 years — we just celebrated our 50th anniversary — Comcast has been financially successful. We’ve gone through that entrepreneurial phase where you transition from start-up to lots of responsibilities and opportunities, but it wasn’t clear exactly where we were headed. Now we are about improving our customers’ products and the experiences they get every day. What do you think you have to do to compete in the future, both in your products and in your services? And it’s about innovation. And it’s about technology.
And if it’s true for Comcast, it’s probably true for the city of Philadelphia. The kinds of technology that we will bring into the building are things that I hope will be available down the road for the entire region. We are talking about some of the greatest data rates and speeds and wireless capabilities in our labs. And I think that high-tech focus will make us a much better company as we go into the future, and that’s where we need to go. So it really helped me sharpen our focus of how we’d like at least partially to be defined. And I think that hopefully Philadelphia is in the same position.
If Comcast becomes known as a place that has the most innovative technical talent, and if Philadelphia becomes known for the same thing, will people want to be here simply because there are other like-minded people here? It absolutely feeds on itself. And to your earlier question: I think that’s partially how we’re attracting wonderful people. And that’s why we’ve invested in our facilities, so they have the best tools and the right work environment, and it becomes a cycle of success. And in my mind it’s critical for us to see Philadelphia be successful, because we have made a very large investment in our city and our region for the future. And that optimistic outlook, I really believe, is because our city deserves it. And we have found that, hopefully, we can truly be distinctive in having a media and technology company headquartered right here in the downtown.
Do you feel much of a change in Philadelphia in the past five or 10 years? I think the city feels younger, more energetic. We have a real transition going on from having lost so many corporate headquarters and some industrial companies. Every city had some down times post-2008, but there seems to be more energy and optimism, and it feels to me younger and more vibrant and a little more crowded.
People in Philly sometimes say that you spend your time running the company and delegate a lot of the local involvement in Philadelphia to people like David L. Cohen. What’s your reaction to that? Well, we’re very lucky to have David L. Cohen and [VP of community investment] Charisse Lillie and many folks who are very active in the community heading up our involvement in Philadelphia — as well as doing that in other markets. David’s history working with Ed Rendell, and his involvement in chairing organizations such as the University of Pennsylvania and the Chamber of Commerce and the Red Cross — we’re fortunate to have that capability.
As to our family personally, I would just like to say that my mother has been doing nonprofit with her television show, my sisters have been very active in the community in health care and arts, my wife Aileen just chaired the Barnes building committee — and my dad and I put our energy into many organizations together. But at the same time, we’ve tried to build the company to be able to touch, not just in Philadelphia but on a national basis now, hundreds of organizations.
Who are your role models when it comes to running the company? Well, I start with my dad. He’s been an amazing inspiration and mentor. Julian Brodsky and Dan Aaron were two of his partners when he founded Comcast, and they both played a very significant role in my life. Outside of Comcast, I’ve been fortunate to have the chance to spend a fair amount of time with both Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who have in different ways been inspiring.
As the company gets bigger, is your role changing? Absolutely. In NBCUniversal, we have something like 20 different companies, and I can’t possibly pretend to have a career and a lifetime’s worth of knowledge in each of those businesses. So I really need to rely even more on the team. And Steve Burke [CEO at NBCUniversal] has put a management team of his own together, and Neil [Smit, who runs Comcast Cable] is doing the same with some great new hires and promotions. I’m really focused on trying to make sure we don’t get complacent, to make sure we focus on pushing ourselves to create better products, listen to customers when we make mistakes, and try to figure out how we can make the system operate better. That’s easier said than done, but it’s critical that we improve every year. And stay in touch with our investors, but at the same time make decisions that are focused on the long term in building a very special company that is different from any company in the world.
