The Cable Center has announced that late former Cox Communications CEO Jim Robbins will receive the 2019 Bresnan Ethics in Business Award.
The award recognizes former Bresnan Communications founder and chairman and longtime Cable Center chairman, Bill Bresnan. The award will be presented at the 22nd annual Cable Hall of Fame celebration May 2 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York.
Robbins served as Cox CEO for a decade and was long known as a pioneer in the industry. He retired in 2005 and died in October 2007 at the age of 65 after a brief battle with cancer.
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“Jim embodied the spirit of the Bresnan Ethics in Business Award,” C-SPAN executive chairman and chairman of the Bresnan Award selection committee, Brian Lamb in a statement. “He held a passion for the cable industry, commitment to excellence and was dedicated to the success of Cox Communications and its employees. We are honored to recognize him with this year’s Bresnan Ethics in Business Award.”
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Robbins joined Cox in 1983, was named president in 1985 and became CEO in 1995. During Robbins’ tenure, Cox quadrupled its size and led the industry on many issues, including sports rights. He retired from Cox at the end of 2005. Following his retirement, he was elected a member of the Cox Enterprises board of directors.
“Jim was such a positive influence in our industry and personally to so many of us at Cox,” current Cox president Patrick Esser said in a statement. “There was no one like him and hardly a day goes by that someone doesn’t recount a Jim anecdote or special memory. He led the company to great success, but it is how he led that we remember most. To employees, customers, and colleagues, he was always genuine and giving and that’s what makes him so deserving of this recognition.”
Robbins served twice as chairman of the Internet & Television Association (NCTA) and won multiple awards, including the industry’s Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership. He is a member of the Cable Hall of Fame class of 2006. He was also a veteran, serving as a destroyer line officer and a gunboat flotilla public affairs officer during two tours of duty with the U.S. Navy in Vietnam from 1965 to 1967.
“Jim’s commitment to excellence in customer service was exceptional, he was a mentor and friend to so many in our industry,” said The Cable Center CEO Jana Henthorn in a statement. “We are delighted to remember Jim and his legacy with this year’s Bresnan Ethics in Business Award.”
The Bresnan Ethics in Business award was created in 2011 to honor outstanding men and women in the cable industry who best exemplify Bill Bresnan’s longstanding commitment to ethics in business. Awardees represent the ideals upheld by Bill Bresnan, including continually demonstrating ethical leadership qualities, doing what’s right in the face of adversity, even when it is unpopular, incorporating doing what’s right in everyday life, and demonstrating societal, community, and philanthropic engagement.
Past recipients include former Continental Cablevision founder Amos B. Hostetter, Jr., former National Cable & Telecommunications CEO and Landmark Communications president Decker Anstrom; former CableVision Industries chief Alan Gerry and Lamb. Last year’s winner was former National Cable Television Association executive June Travis.
Since 1998, 133 leaders have been inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. For more information on the celebration and to secure sponsorships, visit ww.cablehalloffame.com, or call 720-502-7513.
