We have labeled Brian Rankin as cool under pressure, and
he agrees. “There are just too many things that can spin in
different directions, and you can’t be reacting in ways that
aren’t calm,” he explains. “It doesn't position you well as
a leader. If you’re not calm and you’re spinning, then your
team's going to do that too. Life is long; there’s a lot to do;
so let’s keep calm and we’ll work through it.”
It is even bigger than you might think. Comcast Cable,
with Brian Rankin as its chief regulatory counsel, serves
more than 20 million cable TV subscribers, high-speed
Internet customers, and home telephone and home security
subscribers. It also serves in the areas of voice, data
and video services for business customers. Even before
the proposed Time-Warner Cable transaction, Comcast
was the country’s largest cable company, operating in 39
states. Its parent company, Comcast Corp., is a Fortune 50
company whose other holdings include the NBC Universal
broadcasting and film properties.
THE RANKIN FILE
COMCAST CABLE DEFINED
There was little houndstooth and
yelling Roll Tide to Rankin’s student
days at the University. “They scheduled
us between home football weekends,
but I’m a runner, so I’d get up Friday
and Saturday mornings and run all over
campus to get a sense of it,” he says. “On
Friday night we’d go out to restaurants
and, I confess, to even visiting the Strip.
We went to Dreamland too.”
Mostly, though, Tuscaloosa meant
business, literally. “To do the EMBA,
which is technically a part-time program
with a full-time amount of work, you
must be disciplined. It’s all on you to do
the reading, write the papers, get the
projects done and communicate with
your team members — and you can't
wait until a few days before something
is due to work on it,” he says.
The result of his Culverhouse
degree? “I'm a better lawyer; it
definitely made me a better lawyer,”
Rankin says. “I can look at a spreadsheet
in a different way, and I have a deeper and
better understanding of accounting and
financial statements and documents.
It's been a very good return on
my investment.”
Perhaps the business foundation,
added to the legal background,
contributes to Rankin’s work ethic: nose-
to-grindstone attention to detail and
many hours on the job, including nights
and weekends as needed. All the while,
he keeps his cool. “The pace is pretty
fast; I'll say that,” Rankin admits. Yet
after days that could easily turn endless,
Rankin routinely heads home by 6: 30
p.m. for dinner and to play Legos and
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with son,
Robert, 6, whose self-professed career
goals waffle between being an inventor
or a ninja. “The world needs both,” says
the well-adjusted dad. Rankin may slip
back to the computer once the family
sleeps, but he’s buoyed by the evenings
together. “Coming home every night
reminds me what my life is all about.
It's wonderful.”
He and Soozung open their hearts as
host families for international students
at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of
Music, helping individual students or
student families in matters large and
small. Rankin also serves on three
boards: Citizens Diplomacy International
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hosting
international scholars, diplomats
and students and dealing with sister
city programs; Public Citizens for
Children and Youth, a direct service and
advocacy group on behalf of youth in
need; and the dean’s advisory council
for the DePaul University College
of Law.
Meanwhile, the Time-Warner
Cable transaction and a variety of
ongoing issues keep him focused and
forward thinking. At the end of the
day, often a very long day, he gets all
accomplished. “It’s actually not that
hard to do it all,” Rankin says. “You
just have to schedule what's important
in your life, and you can usually find
the time.”
