Leo J. Hindery Jr.: Cable Cowboy
Nearly two years after coming to cable giant Tele-Communications Inc. from a San Francisco cable outfit, InterMedia Partners, President LEO J. HINDERY JR. has adjusted to Colorado living. Outfitted in cowboy boots, he patrols his 1,400-acre ranch north of Denver in a red pickup truck and makes off-color jokes about his cattle. But Hindery is slated to give up his Western ways for New Jersey as the No. 2 executive in AT&T's $23 billion consumer-products division, which handles cable and wireless phones, among other things.
It's the reward Hindery, 51, gets for streamlining and revamping TCI, making it alluring enough for AT&T to bid $48 billion in stock and cash to buy the cable giant last June. Since Hindery's arrival, TCI's market value has quadrupled. He reduced the company's mountain of debt and returned TCI to the black.
After TCI's deal-minded chairman, John C. Malone, hired Hindery in early 1997, the new president overhauled the company's lackluster customer service, firing 25 of TCI's top managers. He sped up installation and repairs of cable boxes by giving more authority to local employees. Plus, he expanded TCI's reach by forming 14 joint ventures with other cable operators.
In vivid contrast to the acerbic Malone, Hindery is courtly and pleasant. He often tells staffers how much he values them, which makes his 6 a.m. meetings more palatable. Those traits should serve him well in the even bigger job he's headed for.
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