People first. That’s the message put forth by Cox Communications and it’s also a personal belief for Kristen Cuffee-Brown. It’s what helps guide her successful career — along with boundless energy, an inquisitive nature and a love of deadlines rooted in her journalism aspirations.
“Kristen has a contagious spirit,” Cox executive VP and chief operations officer Colleen Langner said. “She has a passion for our business and people love to work with her.”
After graduating from the University of North Carolina with a degree in journalism, this Southern California native took a job at a small newspaper while juggling additional work in sports broadcasting in an effort to pursue her dream of becoming a broadcast journalist. Cuffee-Brown’s next role was with a startup during the dot-com era.
Also Read: Wonder Women of L.A. 2023: Hollywood Power Players
She then transitioned into marketing at Cox Communications in 2005, joining what at the time was Langner’s team. The company has been Cuffee-Brown’s home for 18 years. Currently an assistant VP of content acquisition, Cuffee-Brown began her tenure at Cox as a marketing specialist. Over the years, she grew within the company’s divisions, moving up the ranks in marketing. She then transitioned to director of video product before joining the content acquisition team in 2019.
Her current role includes negotiating program agreements for genres such as sports, international and faith-based. She also works on SVOD agreements, OTT apps and now FAST channels.
Customer-Minded Mentality
Cuffee-Brown mixes her “people-first” mindset with her marketing expertise to always keep her eye fixed on the customer. In her current role, she’s tasked with working across a variety of groups within the organization gathering what’s needed to complete deals whether that’s working with marketing, tech or product specialists.
Suzanne Fenwick, senior VP of content acquisition for Cox and Cuffee-Brown’s boss, said that she has relationships across the company to successfully accomplish this.
Fenwick explained that Cuffee-Brown brings her product marketing experience to everything so she never forgets about the customer, always asking the hard questions and pushing for the information she needs.
The business landscape is evolving and changing so much that Cuffee-Brown said it’s important to take a step back to make sure Cox continues to deliver for the customers and the business.
“Sports agreements have become extremely complex, so it always feels good getting one of those completed,” Cuffee-Brown said. “I’ve enjoyed negotiating and onboarding diverse programming through SVOD and FAST services. It’s been a great way to supplement our linear offering and provide value to our customers.”
Kristen has a contagious spirit. She has a passion for our business and people love to work with her.”
— Colleen Langner, Cox Communications
Cuffee-Brown is deeply involved in so many aspects of Cox because as she explains, “Cox is a culture that puts people first and our leadership embodies that.”
She’s had key mentors along the way that invited her to grow within her various roles and then move up every step of the way. In addition, she works tirelessly to mentor others.
My work style is to empower and serve those around me,” Cuffee-Brown explained. “It starts with showing up and being present. It’s also about being a good communicator and being adaptable given how fast things are changing in this space. It’s about supporting a diverse and inclusive work environment.”
Cuffee-Brown served as a Women in Cable Telecommunications (now The WICT Network) board member and a Cable Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) board member. She also informally mentors women and noted that
an informal mentoring style has worked best in her career.
Family First: On and Off the Field
But the most important people in her world are her family. Cuffee-Brown lit up when talking about her husband and three children. She said they love to travel and Hawaii is a favorite destination. Most importantly, she proudly said, “We are a sports family.”
Her husband, Omar Brown, played football with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons and in college at North Carolina, where the couple met. Cuffee-Brown enjoys tennis. Her two daughters play soccer. Her 12-year-old son plays basketball and football.
“My daughter attends Princeton and plays Division I soccer,” she said. “We live and breathe sports. We’re at a field or a court every weekend.”
Whether on or off the field, Cuffee-Brown emulates People First.
“She’s an empathetic leader who mentors not only her team but she mentors other young women because she wants to see them succeed,” Langner said. “She looks to pull out the best in people.”
