The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers has beefed up its engineering team with today’s news that former Comcast exec Marty Davidson was hired as its vice president of engineering and network operations.
Davidson reports to SCTE CTO and senior vice president Daniel Howard. Howard was brought on board by SCTE CEO and President Mark Dzuban as the SCTE re-focused its efforts on becoming more of an engineering- and operations-driven organization for its cable operator and vendor members.
“Marty Davidson’s background will be invaluable as we expand the engineering resources that SCTE makes available to the industry,” Howard said. “We believe the analytical skills, the operational experience and the technical knowledge he has honed at every step in his career will contribute significantly to our development of new programs and materials that can help cable to reduce cost, optimize network performance and enhance customer satisfaction.”
Prior to joining the SCTE, Davidson worked for Comcast for the past 10 years, most recently as vice president of network operations for Comcast’s Western Division. Davidson’s career spans 16 years in network operations, engineering and telephony, including a five-year stint at AT&T Broadband, as well as a decade in the aerospace and defense industries with Raytheon Corp.
“Throughout his career, Marty has been as highly regarded for his work ethic as he has been for his technical expertise,” said John Schanz, executive vice president and chief network officer for Comcast. “As SCTE continues to build new value for the industry, the dedication and skills that Marty brings to the Society will be invaluable.”
In his new SCTE role, Davidson will be responsible for identifying technical trends and industry needs, driving the expansion of SCTE’s Professional Development (Pd) materials and working with all levels of the cable technical workforce to build an increased knowledge base for the industry.
“Marty’s track record speaks for itself: As vice president of network operations for Comcast, he was responsible for the operation of a network supporting 1.1 million network devices and 155,000 miles of plant across 13 states, and he developed tools for improving network performance and customer experience while simultaneously decreasing expenses,” Dzuban wrote in an e-mail to SCTE members this morning. “In a previous position with Comcast as vice president of telephony and as vice president of advanced operations and network management, he improved network efficiency by 20 percent through network modeling, analysis and optimization strategies.
“I had the pleasure of working closely with Marty during his five years with AT&T Broadband, where he ultimately was named vice president of telephony engineering.”
Davidson will be based in Denver but was introduced today at the SCTE’s Exton, Pa., headquarters.
“SCTE’s transformation to a leader in applied science and the business of technology has attracted the notice of the entire industry,” said Davidson. “I look forward to working with both the SCTE team and my peers in the industry to help cable harness the technologies it needs to capitalize on the opportunities on the horizon.”
Davidson earned a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Clemson University and a master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
He also holds an MBA Certificate in Competitive Advantage from St. John’s University, a Certificate in Executive Development from the Wharton School of Business and an Executive Certificate in Innovation and Breakthrough Thinking from Babson College.
