Comcast today announced that Elaine Barden has been appointed Vice President, Business Development for the company’s West Division, which includes the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Texas, Idaho, and Wisconsin.
In this role, Barden will focus on business development and the continued expansion of Comcast’s infrastructure through partnerships with residential housing developers, city economic development organizations, technology companies, and other strategic businesses to accelerate growth and enhance the customer experience.
As part of Comcast’s ongoing expansion efforts, the company says its West Division has committed to establishing additional partnerships with local developers and cities’ economic development departments. These partnerships will enable Comcast to further expand its fiber network to be inclusive of rural broadband areas, thereby creating “live, work, play” environments for residents and businesses that need access to Gig services as they connect remotely. Under Barden’s direction, the Division will also enable several strategic projects that will serve major national brands and sports stadiums, as well as address the rising need for enhanced data center connectivity and support.
Barden joins Comcast’s West Division after serving the last two years as Vice President of Business Development & Strategic Initiatives for Comcast’s California Region, where she was pivotal in expanding Comcast’s infrastructure through relationships with local businesses, developers, state and city officials and the broader community. Barden also previously served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Comcast’s California Region, leading a team of nearly 1,000 employees in Comcast’s largest market, where the company serves more than three million customers.
“Elaine is a proven, hands-on leader who cares deeply about her employees and customers and is always striving for excellence and partnership in growing the business,” said Peter Neill, West Division Senior Vice President, Comcast Business. “Her passion and expertise will be instrumental in our efforts to enhance the customer experience and accelerate network expansion across the West Division.”
In the earlier stages of her career, Barden honed her expertise in cable operations through her role as General Manager and then Director of Operations with United Artists/TCI in the San Francisco Bay Area. She then transitioned to a statewide position as Director of Product Marketing where she launched Digital Television and Broadband Internet, before joining Comcast as Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing for California.
“With more than 30 years of experience in marketing, sales and business development, Elaine has the ideal background to lead strategic relationship development with communities across the West Division. She understands what’s important to our partners and will work with them to invest in the infrastructure critical to areas of economic growth,” added Steve Krom, Comcast's West Division Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing.
Throughout her career, Barden has received numerous accolades for her leadership and the inspiring example she sets for others, including being named to the “Top 100 Most Influential Women in Cable” by CableWorld Magazine, “#35 of the Top 100 Regional Leaders” by Cablefax, and “The Top 25 Most Influential Women in Business” by the San Francisco Business Times.
"I am very excited to work hand in hand with our incredible partners to deliver the innovative products and services needed to keep our communities competitive," said Barden. “We hope to take our collaborations to a whole new level – one where Comcast is working directly with developers to strategically invest in the network infrastructure needed to support developments long before they’ve even begun building.”
Barden is a graduate of UC Berkeley and is the founder of Cinlexico Charitable Foundation which has donated more than $300,000 to support the advancement of children living in poverty.
Learn more at www.comcastcorporation.com.