Cox Communications expanded the role of senior vice president Jill Campbell to include oversight of the company's entire field system, as the cable company also consolidates from 11 operating regions to nine.
Campbell, previously head of Eastern division operations, reports to Cox chief operating officer Leo Brennan.
"Jill's 28 years with Cox and diverse roles in operations give her a broad and unique skill set for this important position," Brennan said in announcing the changes. "Having a single person oversee all of our field operations will give us greater alignment in the competitive marketplace so we can best meet the needs of our customers."
In addition, Cox will consolidate the San Diego and Orange Coast, Calif., operations into one operating unit under David Bialis, who previously oversaw the company's Western Region operations. Bill Geppert, senior vice president and general manager of the Cox San Diego system, will retire at the end of February. Duffy Leone, senior vice president and general manager of Cox's Orange Coast system, has been appointed senior vice president of operations for all of Cox's California service area.
Cox also will merge the Omaha/Sun Valley system with its Kansas/Arkansas operations, under senior vice president and general manager Janet Barnard. David Blau, previously senior vice president and general manager for Cox's Omaha operations, is transferring to Cox's headquarters in Atlanta, where he will serve as vice president of new growth and development for the corporate strategy group.
"Combining systems into fewer, larger consolidated operations gives us greater flexibility, allows us to improve our speed-to-market and better integrate our business," Brennan said. "We are confident this will allow us to provide even better service and continue to earn the trust of our customers."
The executive changes are effective Feb. 1. The system consolidations are expected to be complete within the next few months.
In her expanded role as senior vice president of operations, Campbell is responsible for all field operations and the related Atlanta division support teams. She joined the company in 1982 as director of communications in the Oklahoma City system.
Campbell -- a member of Multichannel News' 2002 Wonder Women class -- has served in multiple operational roles throughout the enterprise including vice president and general manager for Cox systems in Bakersfield, California, Santa Barbara, California and Las Vegas; as vice president of Customer Operations in Phoenix; and as head of the central and eastern divisions.
Cox has yet to fill two senior management positions, chief marketing officer and chief technology officer, after several high-level changes in 2010.
CTO Scott Hatfield left the company in June 2010, and Cox hired veteran telecom executive Don Hallacy as interim chief technology officer while a search for a permanent CTO continues.
In July, CMO Joe Rooney was moved into a new position as senior vice president of brand marketing, social media and advertising.
