In a career spanning 46 years and counting, Italia Commisso Weinand has established herself as one the most prominent and respected executives in the cable industry. Since joining Mediacom Communications in 1996 as its third employee, she has worked to help build Mediacom into the fifth largest cable operator in the U.S., serving 1.4 million customers in 22 states.
As the company embarked on a series of major acquisitions, Italia’s insight and experience proved to be invaluable. She organized the company’s early operations, human resources, marketing and programming policies. Understanding Mediacom needed to attract and retain an employee workforce of dedicated and proficient individuals, she developed a family-oriented corporate culture based on fairness, diversity and career development. It is a policy that has paid off, as Mediacom has grown from fewer than 80 employees in 1996 to nearly 4,000 today.
Italia’s reputation as a groundbreaker and risk-taker is an inspiration to those who work with her. Likewise, her business acumen has contributed to Mediacom delivering on its promise to close the digital divide by providing broadband-based video, data and voice services to America’s smaller cities and towns. As a leader on programming issues and a former board member of NCTC, she has fought for economic equity while building a Mediacom video brand comparable to the largest MSOs.
Prior to starting a career in retail, Italia got her first job in cable at Manhattan Cable (Time, Inc.) in New York City. She later worked for Times Mirror Cable, TCI (CableNet) and Comcast Corporation, before joining her brother Rocco B. Commisso to become a founding member of Mediacom. Throughout her professional life, she has committed herself to numerous charitable causes including Covenant House, Hope Through Care, Habitat for Humanity, St. Jude’s Hospital, Lake Drive School of the Deaf, the Knights of Columbus, NY-Presbyterian Hospital, ALS Association, St. Peter’s Orphanage and the NJ Police Benevolent Association. A Cable TV Pioneer, Italia has been named among the “Most Powerful Women in Cable” by Cablefax Magazine for the past 12 consecutive years. In 2004, she was honored by Multichannel News as a Wonder Woman, and in 2014 was inducted into the “Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.” In 2018, she was honored with the “WICT Woman of the Year – Operator” Award. Italia serves on the board of The Cable Center, CTAM Educational Foundation, The Emma Bowen Foundation and is a director of Mediacom Communications Corporation. She is a past board member of Cable Positive and WICT.
Italia attended Elizabeth Seton College and Fordham University. In addition, Italia completed WICT’s Senior Executive Summit at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. She has been married to George Weinand for 33 years and is the mother of a son, John, two stepsons, William and Michael, three step-grandchildren and has 28 nieces and nephews.
