Q: Describe Cox’ s conviction-toexperimentation model in terms of diversifying our business.
Shereta: We closely align our diversification efforts with our purpose and associate with companies that are going to make the world a better place. We start small and build relationships with target companies and different partners in those segments to learn more. We then make small investments to get a seat at the table and forge connections from the inside out. We partner with people in minority investments to go even bigger once we have some conviction in a space and then decide to make an acquisition or large-scale investment. While the different sectors we cover are in various places on that spectrum, they all follow a start-small-and-acquire-more model as we establish conviction through experimentation.
Q: How is Cox poised to address the intersection of wired and wireless connectivity?
Sujata: Connectivity is transforming how we can connect our customers with the people and experiences that matter most to them— whether it’ s a residential customer watching their favorite show or a small business owner interacting with their employees and customers. In the future, we’ ll live in a world where customers won’ t define their connectivity as wired or wireless— they will just want it to be fast, secure and reliable, wherever and whenever they want it. We want to be their chosen connectivity provider, regardless of whether that connection is fixed or mobile. Folks like Tony and his team are preparing our company for that future.
Q: As Cox continues to evolve, there’ s crossover among connectivity, mobility and sustainability, which begs the question: How do we define our company?
Shereta: I think of Cox as a service provider. When we look at the segments we’ re targeting, we try to leverage the digitization of services and the shift to providing services in a more efficient way. Across our company, we’ re really starting to provide software that makes it easier for businesses to provide their services to customers.
Amy: There’ s this intersection at Cox between the human element and technology. Over this past year, we’ ve discovered our superpower is how we manage that intersection to be a great operator.
Q: What has the pandemic taught us about our company and our teams?
Tony: Nobody knew the pandemic was coming, but we were already in the process of upgrading the network for the next wave of future growth. If we hadn’ t been proactive in planning and investing for that growth, we could’ ve been in a very bad place with network congestion and poor customer service. People needed their internet connectivity during this pandemic— it was critical to their livelihood and the success of so many families. Our technology was a great enabler that made a big difference in millions of lives.
Joe: I think the governor is still speaking to the family through his will, where he said,“ Take care of the employees, who will take care of our customers, who will take care of the family.” Because Cox does right by our employees, they come through for the company, which is how we’ ve been successful during the pandemic. Teams in the field showed up with masks on, not knowing what COVID-19 was really about, to do their jobs. It’ s the relationship between the family and employees that keeps this thing together.
Amy: There’ s a grit to the way we operate across the business. It boils down to each individual and how they contribute. If you think about that day in March when the automotive industry shut down and we locked the doors of every dealership and auction across the country, the superheroes were the technology we had built that enabled us to facilitate sales without anyone showing up at a location, and the people who got back in there a week later to make sure we were getting vehicles assessed, refurbished and back on the street.
16 SUMMER 2021
Shereta Williams, Cox Enterprises