BEYOND MEDIA – Alumni Spotlights highlight the success of THF Alumni in various industries including government, finance, talent acquisition and more.
LaShaun (THF ’07) is an Account Executive with Comcast and President of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Southeast Chapter.
Can you tell us about your position with Comcast?
As an Account Executive, I manage the relationships between Comcast and the apartment communities we serve in order to drive product sales.
What are you major responsibilities and what does a typical day look like for you?
I am responsible for building the awareness of Xfinity services, developing business opportunities and improving the Comcast experience for customers in multi-dwelling units (MDU’s). A typical day for me starts with an assessment of my high priority accounts and identifying any elevations or urgent requests. I usually have several meetings/presentations with property professionals throughout the day, so I prepare for these by checking on the latest updates of promotional offerings and product launches.
In addition to my role at Comcast, I am the President of Women In Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Southeast Chapter. The Southeast chapter supports AL, GA and TN and is one the largest WICT chapters. As President, I’m engaging regularly with the 30+ women on the board as well as identifying and forging new relationships to support the chapter.
What do you like most about your position?
I enjoy having the ability to be creative. There’s also a sense of ownership in what I do. I strive to over achieve my goals and take risks in identifying new opportunities. I enjoy being able to provide solutions to our customers’ pain points and contribute to building a positive image of the company.
What are the most rewarding and challenging parts of your role?
Much of the outcome of my work depends on the support from other teams. While this can be challenging, I see this as an opportunity because it allows me to gain further insight on the many departments within Comcast. I enjoy working cross functionally and building my knowledge of how each business function works together to deliver services to the customer.
Comcast has been an exceptional supporter of my leadership involvement in WICT. I regularly share the personal and professional benefits of WICT and personally aid employees with joining. I also coordinate with company leaders on communications regarding WICT. It’s rewarding to carry out a mission to develop fellow women leaders in our industry and within the company.
What particular talents or skills are most essential to being effective in your role?
Organization: This is necessary because we manage multiple accounts and business relationships and you have to be able to manage each relationship effectively because they are all unique.
Adaptability: In our industry things are constantly changing. Whether it’s a new product rolling out, a disruptive competitor, or merger/acquisition activity – it’s important to remain agile and adaptive to change.
Transparency: What I’ve learned from being a leader, is that one should be transparent with their team on their goals and expectations in order for the team to perform optimally. I’ve also found transparency to serve me well with clients because it gives them perspective on the work that I do on their behalf.
How has your affiliation with the T. Howard Foundation made an impact on your career?
During my T. Howard internship at Turner I was tasked with calling up local businesses in Atlanta seeking in-kind donations to support the WICT Atlanta Chapter Golf and Tennis tournament. When I started my first job in cable 6 weeks post-graduation, I immediately sought to get involved with a local WICT chapter. From there I made WICT a significant part of my career growth and leadership development. Without the T. Howard Foundation, I would not have known about WICT.
What advice would you give to THF interns/other alumni as they being their careers?
Embrace all that is available and push yourself to engage in as many opportunities as possible, even the non-familiar ones. From my experience, the more that you engage with different groups, the more knowledge you are set to gain; this will serve you well as you start developing interests and different areas of focus. Engaging with different groups will aid in providing you with a well-rounded knowledge bank in the multimedia industry. I also encourage those just starting out to take advantage of memberships in industry associations.