Connecting- An Inside Look at the Culture of COX Communications E2
This was such an impactful conversation with Susan Anable, Vice President of Public Affairs- Southwest Region with COX Communications. She gave us insight into the history, the people, and the passion of the employees. We could have listened to the stories of the culture and the people all day, but unfortunately the show is only 60 minutes.
If you thought you knew about the great culture at COX and the amazing people that work there, there is so much more that Susan tells on the podcast. This podcast dives into areas of the company culture that our host didn’t even know about. It’s a company culture all about connections and doing the right thing.
This is a great episode to listen to if you are trying to grow the culture at your company, if you are looking to partner with an great company, if you want to hear about a company that is supporting the community, and if you want to hear about people just doing the right thing and making a difference.
Cox Communications is committed to creating meaningful moments of human connection through broadband applications and services. The largest private telecom company in America, we proudly serve six million homes and businesses across 18 states.
In metro Phoenix, we serve approximately 2.5 million product subscribers, and in Southern Arizona, approximately 400,000 product subscribers, with residential and business digital television, 1G high speed Internet, security systems and digital telephone service over its own nationwide IP network. We’re dedicated to empowering others to build a better future and celebrate diverse products, people, suppliers, communities and the characteristics that makes each one unique.
The 3,100 Arizona employees of Cox are proud to have topped numerous J.D. Power and Associates’ studies of customer satisfaction and for many years top “Ranking Arizona-Best of Arizona Business” list. Cox Communications is the largest division of Cox Enterprises, a family-owned business founded in 1898 by Governor James M. Cox.
Susan Anable, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs, Southwest Region, has been with Cox Communications since 2001. She is responsible for media relations, community relations, government affairs and internal communications for Cox in Arizona and Nevada.
From 1991 to 2001, Susan was part of the Arizona State Senate Research Staff, serving as Staff Director and Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Analyst when she left to join Cox in 2001.
Susan serves on the Executive Committee of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, and recently passed the gavel after serving as Chair of the Board for two terms. She is the past Public Affairs Chair and Board member of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.
She is a former President and member of the Phoenix Suns Charities Board and serves on the Cox Charities Board. In 2015, Susan was named to the Banner Health Foundation Board of Directors.
Susan was appointed to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s Workforce Arizona Council in 2016 and has served as an appointee on numerous City of Phoenix Task Forces dealing with regulatory simplification, pension reform and technology. Susan is the past President of the Southwest Cable Communications Association and a past member of the Executive Board of the Arizona Tax Research Association. In 2019, Susan was recognized as a “Woman to Watch” by Women in Cable Television (WICT), and as Woman of the Year by the Arizona Capitol Times in its 2019 Women of Achievement Awards. She has also won numerous company and industry awards for government relations and public affairs initiatives.
Originally from Wyoming, Susan came to Arizona to attend school, graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from The Walter Cronkite School of Broadcast Journalism at Arizona State University in 1991, and is a graduate of the Cable Television Public Affairs Association’s Institute for Public Affairs.
She is married to Mike Anable and they have two adult children, Nicholas and Ellise. They reside in Phoenix where Susan loves to hike, run and spend as much time outdoors with her family.
About Culture Crush
Culture Crush is officially relaunched! We are thankful to Debra Caron who launched and hosted the show originally. Culture Crush is back with a new host but the same focus- highlighting what makes a great company culture and how it affects the overall success of a company. 
Culture is not just a tag word to be thrown around. It is not something you throw in job descriptions to draw people to applying for jobs within a company.
According to Marcus Buckingham and Ashely Goodall in their book Nine Lies About Work, “Culture is the tenants of how we behave. It’s like a family creed. This is how we operate and treat each other in the family.”
On this long form podcast we will highlight companies local to Arizona and beyond that are crushing it with great culture!
We will talk with company leaders to learn about real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment where employees are finding joy and satisfaction in their work while also striving and growing within the company.
About the Host
Kindra Maples is your new host taking the lead on the relaunch of Culture Crush! She is spartan racer, past animal trainer, previous magician’s assistant, and has a weakness for Oreo cookie shakes. Her journey working with people actually started working with animals as a teenager (don’t worry we won’t go that far back for her bio).
She worked for over 15 years in the zoo industry working with animals and the public. Her passion of working with animals shifted into working with people in education, operations and leadership roles. From there her passion of leadership and helping people develop has continued to grow.
Then came the opportunity for relaunching the Culture Crush Podcast and she jumped on it. Leadership, growth, and strong company cultures are all areas that Kindra is interested in diving into further.
Shout Outs
We want to thank a few people for their behind the scenes effort in helping this relaunch to come to life. James Johnson with Tailored Penguin Media Company LLC.– It is a small, but powerful video production company with a goal to deliver the very best by articulating the vision of your brand in a visually creative way. Gordon Murray with Flash PhotoVideo, LLC. -Flash Gordon has been photographing since high school and evolving since then with new products that will equip, encourage, engage, and enable. Renee Blundon with Renee Blundon Design – She is not only one of the best free divers (that’s not how she helped with the podcast) but she is great with graphics design and taking the direction for the vision that you have while also adding creative ideas to bring to your vision to life.
These are just a few of the folks that supported the relaunch of the podcast. If you would like to be part of the Culture Crush team or would like to support underwriting the show- please reach out: culturecrushpodcast@gmail.com
