A Family Affair
BendBroadband’s Tykeson Puts Premium On Being First
by K.C. Neel -- Multichannel News, 1/27/2008 7:00:00 PM
In this story:
Amy Tykeson
Amy Tykeson
President and CEO
BendBroadband
BendBroadband president and CEO Amy Tykeson was raised in the shadow of the cable business as her father, Don Tykeson, built Liberty Communications into the nation’s 17th largest cable operator. But she had no desire to enter the business until her dad convinced her to attend the 1980 National Show in Houston. She was blown away by all the excitement. She was also enamored by HBO.
Three weeks later she was working in the premium network’s affiliate relations office in Chicago, and she hasn’t looked back since. Indeed, Tykeson is famous for looking forward not back in everything she does.
Eventually, she moved to HBO’s New York office, rising to vice president of area marketing in New York. But by 1987, the lure of moving back to Oregon with her family was too strong to ignore. In 1984, Don Tykeson and other shareholders of Liberty sold the company to Tele-Communications Inc., but the Tykeson family retained the Bend system. Tykeson began serving on BendBroadband’s board in 1989. In 1996, she took her current position, and the company has been at the forefront of technology and new service offerings ever since.
“We subscribe to the theory that being first to market is an advantage,” Tykeson said. “We have paid a premium to be first. But the decisions have paid dividends in the end.”
Over $60 million has been invested in upgrading and rolling out new services since 1996. BendBroadband launched high-speed data in 1997, making it the first operator to launch the service in Oregon and one of the first to launch it in the country. Digital cable was introduced in 1999; high-definition services became available in 2004; digital simulcasting launched in 2005; and commercial and residential phone services were rolled out in 2006.
The company’s next big hurdle will be to go fully digital by the end of 2008. BendBroadband obtained a waiver a year ago from the Federal Communications Commission’s ban on further deployment of integrated digital set-top boxes. But it came with a price: the operator must discontinue analog transmission by the end of 2008. It won’t be easy, but Tykeson is confident BendBroadband will hit the deadline.
The hard work and steep costs are paying off. Today, BendBroadband ranks among the top 10 systems in the nation in terms of Internet penetration to homes passed, Tykeson said, and the company will be one of the first to go all digital.
About three years ago, Tykeson knew the company had to elevate its customer service game. “If we’re not listening to our customers, we’re dead in the water,” Tykeson said.
Given the company’s rapid growth in the last decade — it has risen from 19,000 video customers in 1997 to 37,000 today, with 76% of those taking digital, 28,000 high-speed data customers and 9,000 phone customers — BendBroadband’s biggest challenge going forward will be building on the positive company culture it has embraced, according to Tykeson.
“I am gratified that we have made the investment in our culture,” she said. “Our strong team-oriented culture has allowed us to embrace the rapid pace of technological change, weather significant regional growth, implement a battery of complex initiatives every year and most importantly, build customer loyalty.”
Tykeson credits her father for BendBroadband’s tradition of innovation. She considers him a true visionary and her primary mentor. “He has been my biggest cheerleader, critic and advocate,” Tykeson said.
She operates with three basic theories: First, the service-profit chain, where customer loyalty and financial success are preceded by great hiring practices, employee satisfaction and internal systems that support the operation. She also maintains her focus on her priorities by being a technology leader, “wowing” customers and achieving operational excellence. And finally, she invests in organizational development. “BendBroadband would not be able to accomplish what we do today or compete, without the team-based, customer-focused culture we’ve worked hard to build, nor would the work be as rewarding or fun,” she said.
Tykeson is broadly involved in industry issues and organizations. She has long been engaged with Women In Cable & Telecommunications, having served on the board for several years including a stint as president in 1986. She currently serves on the boards of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, CableLabs, C-SPAN and the Cable TV Pioneers. In addition, she is a trustee of the Tykeson Family Charitable Trust.
As chairman of NCTA’s rural/small operator committee, Tykeson spends a lot of time on Capitol Hill explaining and educating Congress and the FCC on the intricacies of operating small and rural systems. Tykeson was rewarded for her hard work by being honored with the organization’s Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership.
“Amy effectively represents, day in and day out, the concerns of small and mid-sized cable operators,” said NCTA president Kyle McSlarrow. “She makes a tremendous contribution to our policy discussions because of her hands-on operation of her own business and the very close relationship her company enjoys with its customers.”
CableLabs president Dick Green has similar sentiments about Tykeson’s contributions to the CableLabs board. “Amy brings several critical perspectives to CableLabs in her role on our executive committee and board of directors,” Green said. “It is no understatement to say that Amy is as passionate as she is inquisitive, two characteristics that define her success and traits that serve our members well.”
Between her responsibilities at BendBroadband, her board work and local philanthropic activities, there is little time to relax. Still, Tykeson takes time to hike and bike the mountains around Bend, one of Oregon’s most popular vacation destinations. She tries to ski during the winter, but admits she doesn’t hit the slopes as much as she would like.
Her two teenagers keep her on her toes and “a lot of my focus is on them right now. Having dinner with my family every night is the best part of my day,” she said. “I strive for balance. We live in a beautiful part of the country and the outdoors is a big part of living here. I don’t get to enjoy it as much as I’d like, but when you enjoy what you do, working is a joy. And it is for me.”
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