Kate McEnroe

Kate McEnroe

Interview Date: 1999
Interview Location: New York, NY USA
Interviewer: Unknown
Collection: WICT 20th Anniversary Collection Project

McENROE: My name is Kate McEnroe. I’m the president of American Movie Classics Network.

INTERVIEWER: How did you initiate–become involved in the cable industry?

McENROE: How I initially became involved in the cable industry is actually through a conversation I had with Bill Daniels about 15 or 16 years ago. The first women’s professional basketball league had been started, and Bill had been, at that point, investing in different sports franchises. And I had contacted him to investigate his interest in purchasing one of the franchise leagues, and from the women’s pro basketball league, at that point, that was here in New York. And flew out there, did the whole performance, talked to him about the growth of women’s sports entitled, nine passing–the title of mine was a bill that passed in 1976, and that we felt there was going to be a significant explosion in women’s sports and that he should really think about capitalizing it. He looked at me and said, honey, you couldn’t give me any sports franchise right now. He had just lost–went bankrupt on the Utah Stars at that point, and had been in several boxing ventures that failed. And he said, but I think your tenacity and your spirit would do well in this new venture called, Rainbow Programming, and I’d like you to meet Jerry Maglio. So I interviewed Jerry. I accepted the job, and at that point had gone back home for the holidays and also had gotten a job offer from Campbell Mathunes[?] It was an ad agency in Minneapolis. I went to pack up my boxes from my apartment, and to tell Jerry that I really decided I was going to stay in the advertising agency business. And I went to resign the first day, but he kept me so busy three weeks later, I couldn’t leave. The pace of the industry, and the creativity was somewhat breath taking, and basically he never had time for me to resign.

INTERVIEWER: How would you characterize the industry when you first entered it?

McENROE: When I first entered the industry, the rules hadn’t been written, and–not that they’re even written still today, but everything was new, every idea was worth considering, and every way to improve was to improve the network, to improve the marketing, to improve the communications. Those were significant issues for the industry at that point in time, because, again, the rules just hadn’t been written yet, and back in the early ’80s we were writing them.

INTERVIEWER: What about now, where do you see cable and telecommunications going in the next five or ten years?

McENROE: I think over the last 50 years, television has really made a major revolution in the way we think, in the way we live, in our family lives, and in entertainment. And I think the cable television industry in the early ’80s provided really what the creation of television didn’t have prior to that, and that was more broad base, and not the lowest common denominator programming. And I think that’s what we really built up over the last 20 years, and some very high quality network, not programming to the lowest common denominator. Where I think the next 20 or 30 years becomes is television that has been somewhat linear in nature where a programming decides what you want to watch when they want to program it. All of that will change in the next five years. The technology is such that everything from VOD to talking the intelligence of the Internet, and applying it to the set top box and program networks will really make the whole television experience something that will revolutionize this industry in the next five years. Where today you have a visual experience with a network, in the next several years, there will have to be user components in this visual experience.

INTERVIEWER: Let’s talk about you. Could you tell me some of the components of your personal success?

McENROE: I think the components of success for, personally, has been a sense of pioneer spirit, and not being faint at heart. And not being afraid of taking on new challenges, and it’s always too easy to say why something shouldn’t be done. It’s more difficult and more challenging to figure out how to get it done whether it’s launching new channels, or whether it’s deploying these set top boxes. I think there’s going to be significant challenges, and it’s not going to be in the future for faint of heart. And always thought of myself as a pioneer and not a historian. I never want to write the history. I wanted to create the history.

INTERVIEWER: What do you see as your greatest professional accomplishment?

McENROE: I think the greatest professional accomplishments to date has been taking what was perceived as old movies, and saying–cleaning them up, restoring them, and presenting them in a museum like quality. And taking what was considered old movies, and turning them into classics. And driving the subscriber base to 20 million homes. I think the other accomplishment is understanding the need for more women’s programming, and moving forward in a very difficult environment and launching Romance Classics. And really making the industry understand the need for additional women’s programming; that the programming in the networks that may have been appropriate in the early ’80s, weren’t appropriate for the new millennium.

INTERVIEWER: Do you think the emergence of the female CEO has changed the contours of the cable industry?

McENROE: I think the change in attitude towards women’s programming is based more on the power, the economic power that women are yielding today, and their influence on the economy right now. Both from paying the bills, and also participating in the new media. 50% of women today are on the Web. 60% own cell phones. 80% write the bills. And when you actually look at women on campuses today, 62% of the total population that are on campuses today are women.

INTERVIEWER: Some successful women have said that it was easier for them to enter the cable industry during its formative years, because there weren’t definite rules. Would you agree with this assessment?

McENROE: I believe that women who were not afraid to take risk back in the late ’70s and early ’80s, this is a wonderful opportunity for them to make a mark.

INTERVIEWER: Some successful women have said it was easier for them to enter the cable industry during its formative years, because there were no definite rules. Would you agree with this assessment?

McENROE: I think back in the early ’70s–late ’70s, early ’80s, that for women who were not afraid to take risk, the opportunities were plentiful. The job market was being created. There wasn’t the stigmatism that were in traditional broadcasting. But the key was that there were no rules, so if you were a high structured individual and weren’t willing to take a risk with this new medium, it was not an appropriate career choice.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have any contemporaries you view as role models, or do you have a mentor you remember who helped you through your career?

McENROE: There’s several people I’ve always admired through–from when I joined the industry back in 1982, Kay Koplovitz, partly because she was the president of the network. And back at that point, I was a marketing manager and always thought, oh, my gosh, I want to be Kay Koplovitz someday. And as the time passed in our company, Sheila Mahony who sits on the board of directors of cable vision, and oversees all the franchise and government affairs; both, because she was–she’s very bright and influential. She had a bought with cancer, and she was very strong through it–throughout that whole period and kept a great sense of humor; kept a great perspective, and still continues to guide me today.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have any advice for any young people entering the industry, or anything particular you might say to women entering the industry today?

McENROE: The advise I’d give young people today entering this industry is the advise I gave myself years ago, take risks, don’t have–be faint at heart, be creative, and think big.

INTERVIEWER: How would you describe your personal management style? Do you think it evolved over time?

McENROE: It’s still evolving, isn’t it, David? Yes. I think with part of youth, and managing my management style when I was very young was very brash–probably some very aggressive, very little patience, and thinking, oh, I’ll just do it myself.

McENROE: I think as the industry got bigger, more complicated, our networks got bigger and more complicated. Patience became an absolute must, and understanding that it’s not necessarily how one gets the job done, as long as it gets done.

INTERVIEWER: As you obviously know, this is a demanding industry. A lot of folks today are concerned about balancing personal and professional life. Have you developed any strategies to achieve balance? Is it possible?

McENROE: I’m the wrong person to ask about this one. I think it’s very difficult to–I think one can have somewhat balance, but I believe we live in a very stressful society. And within this stressful society, you have to make choices. And it may not be to take that next job, or that next promotion. And in that, trying to achieve balance. But I do think it requires choices that in this–in the media industry, in the entertainment industry, that the requirements, and the demands on your time, if you’re planning to move up the corporate ladder becomes very challenging.

INTERVIEWER: There’s a lot of talk in the early ’90s about the glass ceiling, do you think there ever was a glass ceiling preventing women from reaching their potential–their full potential? If so, does it still exist?

McENROE: I still sense it’s not to the same degree here in the cable television industry, but my sense is there’s still a glass ceiling; otherwise, I don’t think there would be organizations like Women in Cable today. I think the goal in the next century would be that organizations like Women in Cable do not exist.

INTERVIEWER: Do the recent and very dramatic changes in the industry have an effect on women? Are there more opportunities now than previously?

McENROE: The transaction, and the mergers that have happened over the last 12 months is nothing like I’ve seen in the last 20 years. And I think the rules are still not written on what’s going to happen. If it means more opportunities, less opportunities for men and women, and where the future is going to lie. I don’t have a crystal ball at this point.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have any involvement in the Women in Cable and Telecommunications?

McENROE: I’m on the board of trustees with them.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have anything you want to say about that?

McENROE: Maybe I’ll reiterate more about–I think the goal of Women in Cable is to no longer exist. And that when women are treated as an equal, that is the point where Women in Cable no longer needs to exist.

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Scott McArthur

Scott McArthur

Chief Revenue Officer

Statflo

As CRO, Scott leads the company’s Sales, Partnerships and Customer divisions. With over 15 years of experience across consumer retail and technology sectors, Scott’s focus has always been to improve the customer experience through profitable interactions. Prior to joining Statflo, he managed Sales and Marketing teams at Telus, one of Canada’s largest Telecommunications companies, responsible for bringing innovative solutions to the frontline teams in the SMB and Consumer segments. During his career, he has built high performing teams and developed programs that drive engagement and revenue growth.

Camilla Formica

Camilla Formica

Chief Program Officer

Syndeo Institute at The Cable Center

Camilla Formica leads experiential programs and thought leadership to empower and embolden industry innovators. In collaboration with The Cable Center team, she delivers on the organization’s mandate to support leaders defining a new era for the industry.

Camilla’s career spans more than 30 years with deep experience cultivating strategic partnerships and creating programs that provide people with the skills and confidence to increase their impact. Previously, she served as Chief Revenue Officer and minority owner at NCTI and drove sales efforts at International Fiber Communications as Corporate Vice President, Sales. She also held leadership roles at Metromedia/WorldCom and ICG. She began her career at Metromedia Communications in Southern California.

Celebrated by the industry for her leadership and mentorship, Camilla was named to the 56th Class of Cable TV Pioneers and was recognized by The WICT Network-Rocky Mountain as Mentor of the Year in May of 2022. She supports women leaders as vice president of that organization and has led and served on NTCA and PACE advisory councils. A breast cancer survivor, Camilla is a Model of Courage for the Ford Warriors in Pink ambassadorship program. She remains a minority owner of NCTI and serves on the company’s board.

Mark Snow

Mark Snow

SVP, Consumer Marketing & Insights

CTAM

Mark has been a marketer in the communications and broadband industry for 22 years with experience in marketing strategy, consumer insights, analytics, digital marketing and traditional media marketing. Mark is currently Senior Vice President & General Manager of Consumer Marketing & Insights for CTAM, the Cable Industry’s marketing association. In this role, he leads the MSO Marketing Cooperative, a consortium of the largest cable companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe, with a team focused on consumer marketing, analytics and consumer research. The team leads a number of councils focused on industry best practices and manages the National Mover Marketing Program for its U.S. members.

Prior to CTAM, Mark was VP of Marketing Strategy & Analytics for Swire, a Los Angeles-based boutique advertising agency. Before Swire, Mark was with Cox Communications for eight years, where he held roles of increasing responsibility in marketing. Before joining the Cable Industry, Mark spent seven years in the wireless industry with GTE Wireless, now a part of Verizon.

Mark holds a B.A. degree cum laude in Music History, Theory and Composition from the College of Charleston and an M.B.A. with honors from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Charles Patti

Charles Patti

Senior Fellow & Cox Chair

Syndeo Institute at The Cable Center

Charles (Chuck) is the James M. Cox Professor of Customer Experience Management and Senior Fellow at The Cable Center and a Professor Emeritus at the University of Denver and Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Professor Patti has deep international experience through consulting and academic appointments throughout Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia, with extensive experience in building, delivering, and evaluating curriculum in a wide range of settings, including doctoral seminars, MBA and other specialized postgraduate courses, undergraduate programs, and professional and corporate learning. He has special expertise in case method learning and has coordinated several case learning workshops, including a Harvard Business School case workshop. He was an early adopter of online teaching and learning technologies and developed several firsts in learning technology, including the first video case, the C-DIE format (interactive case learning), the online MBA (Otis Elevator Company), and most recently, the Virtual Grocery Environment for interactive learning.

Much of his teaching draws from his business and consulting experience, which includes clients in the higher education sector (The Cultural Precinct, University Libraries, Bureau of Publications, Athletic Departments, Colleges of Business, Law, and Arts, and the Australian Vice Chancellors’ Committee) and in the business sector (American Newspaper Publishers Association, American Telephone Advertising, Inc., Chubb Electronic Security, Gannett, Inc., McDonald’s Corp., New Zealand Telecom, and Sunsuper, Pty. Ltd.) He has built and delivered major learning programs with consulting clients that have included Aetna Insurance, British American Tobacco, Otis Elevator, Queensland State Department of Development, Siemens, Texas Instruments, and Philip Morris. His research covers marketing communication and CE management and his work includes journal articles, book chapters, and eight books on various aspects of marketing. Recently, Dr. Patti has been conducting research on the Customer Experience (CE) Maturity Curve, CE ROI, and CE metrics. He is a past winner of the Marketing Educator of the Year Award and is recipient of the James Hershner Free Enterprise Award.

Dr. Patti holds a A.B. (history and literature), an M.S. (advertising) and a Ph.D., all from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

Rodrigo Duclos

Rodrigo Duclos

Chief Digital Officer

Claro Brasil

Rodrigo Modesto Duclos is graduated in Electric Engineering and holds an MBA in Strategy and Marketing where he developed a structural analysis of the Brazilian Cable industry in 1999.

Rodrigo began his career in NET Sul, a cable start-up back in 1994 and worked for different companies in the telecom industry (Claro, Promon, LogicaCMG). Since the early days he has been involved with many innovative projects in telecommunications such as the introduction of broadband in Brazil (Cable Modems), Mobile pre-paid services, SMS, Ring-tones, MMS, Mobile Internet (GPRS/Edge, WAP), Digital TV (DVB), VOD and IP Video among others.

Currently Rodrigo is leading the digital transformation projects in Claro Brasil Group (NET, Embratel and Claro) as the Chief Digital Officer.

Bob Bartelt

Bob Bartelt

Director of Customer Experience Operations

Midco

Bob Bartelt joined Midco in 2014, and in 2018 became Director of Customer Experience Operations. In this role, Bob leads the day-to-day operations of all customer support groups ensuring that Midco is providing a world-class experience at every customer touchpoint. Bob came to Midco with 10 years of industry experience as an operations manager and site leader for a business process outsourcing company.

He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in business management and currently serves as the Board President for his local youth hockey organization. Bob is also a 2016 graduate of the Leadership Fargo Moorhead West Fargo class through the FMWF Chamber of Commerce and was named to Prairie Business magazines “40 under 40” list in 2019.

Diane Christman

Diane Christman

President and CEO

Syndeo Institute at The Cable Center

Diane Christman leads The Cable Center’s work to build on the activation of Vision 2025, the expansion of the Intrapreneurship Academy, and the investment in creating a vibrant community for resource and idea sharing through thought leadership. She will advance the Vision 2025 strategic planning initiative implementation in collaboration with The Cable Center team and board after co-leading the effort in 2020 and 2021.

Diane brings 30 years of experience building partnerships that drive growth and create value. She is respected for her diplomatic style and global perspective, valued by an industry inventing the future of high-quality video content and Gigabit-speed connectivity for residential and business customers in U.S. and international markets. Diane joined The Cable Center in 2006 as vice president, marketing and development. She was promoted to senior vice president, programs and development in 2009 and senior vice president, development and chief program officer in 2019. She became president and CEO in January of 2022.

Since she joined The Cable Center, Diane has been responsible for creation of The Center’s $10 million Chairman’s Fund endowment campaign (approaching completion); partnerships supporting The Cable Center’s Mavericks Lecture Series, Cable Mavericks Masters Forum, and Cable Center Customer Centric Consortium (C5) initiatives; increasingly successful Cable Hall of Fame events; and organizational re-branding.

Simón Tadeo

Simón Tadeo

Customer Experience Director

Telecom Argentina

Simón Tadeo is the Customer Experience Director at Telecom, the leading telecommunications company in Argentina. Telecom main brands are Personal (Mobile), Fibertel (Broadband), Arnet (ADSL Broadband) and Cablevisión (TV). For corporate customers Telecom main brands are Fibercorp & Telecom Negocios.

Simón began his career at Cablevision in 1998 and has held various positions, including Client Retention Coordinator, Business Analyst, Head of Administration & Control and Sales Integration Manager. In 2008, after the merger between Cablevision and Multicanal, Simón assumed responsibility for the creation and integration of the new business processes.

From November 2009, Simón led the Open Project—a three-year business transformation project that deployed a new CRM, billing system, workforce management, mobile, & BI systems in Cablevisión, Fibertel and Fibercorp. For the next three years, Simón focused on improving customer experience for Cablevisión – Fibertel, fostering Innovation across the company and leading a cross company Project Management Team. From June 2016 until January 2018, Simón was responsible for the leadership of the Sales & Customer Care management teams, which included accountability for sales and churn, contact centers, digital channels, retail stores, business processes and customer insights.

In February 2018, following the merger of Telecom and Cablevision, Simón was appointed the Customer Experience Director of the newly-formed company, Telecom Argentina.

Simón holds a degree in Business Administration from the UCA (University Católica Argentina) and studies in Marketing at UCES (University of Business and Social Sciences).

Maureen Moore

Maureen Moore

Chief Customer Experience Officer

GCI

In her current position, Maureen is responsible for the overall customer experience strategy of GCI. With more than 20 years of telecom experience, she previously served as Vice President of Consumer Services, with marketing and operations responsibility for GCI’s consumer products, including wireless, Internet, cable TV, and wireline services. She also served on the Alaska Broadband Task Force from 2011-2014 which produced a plan for accelerating the deployment and adoption of broadband technology across Alaska. She graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Business Administration, double majoring in Finance and Management. Maureen is currently based out of Anchorage, Alaska.

Kimberly Gibson

Kimberly Gibson

Sr. Director Customer Operations

Cable ONE/Sparklight

Kimberly Gibson is the Senior Director of Customer Operations. As a key member of the Customer Operations Team, she is responsible for aligning strategy with company goals and objectives, testing and implementation of solutions and best practices to improve the customer experience across Cable ONE/Sparklight’s 42 systems and three inbound call centers. Kim has responsibilities for over 300 Cable ONE/Sparklight associates.

She joined Cable ONE/Sparklight in 2004 as Office Manager of Cable ONE/Sparklight’s technical Solution Center. In 2005, she was promoted to General Manager, assuming full responsibility for the day-to-day activities of the 150-seat center currently averaging 88,000 calls a month. Kim was promoted in August 2005 to the General Manager of Cable ONE/Sparklight’s national inbound Customer Care call center and was responsible for all aspects of the center’s daily operation, including but not limited to, strategy planning, leadership coaching and metric achievement. In January 2008, Kim was promoted to Director of Virtual Operations responsible for the operations of the Virtual Call centers in Cable ONE/Sparklight’s local markets.

Prior to joining the Cable ONE/Sparklight leadership team, Kim gained vast experience in the communications industry where she began her career with Qwest Communications in 1991. After advancing to a Network Operations Supervisor position in 1997, her quality focus resulted in a promotion to Network Operations Manager for Qwest’s Arizona dispatch centers.

Kimberly graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a B.S. in Hospitality Management and earned an MBA in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix.

Suzanne Foy

Suzanne Foy

VP, Customer Care Partner Management Strategy and Cox Business Support

Cox Communications

Suzanne leads Cox customer care outsource partner management, strategy, program management and Cox business customer support. Previous roles include customer support, billing and payment experiences across call center and online channels, customer-focused process standardization, user-focused knowledge management, communications and agent education.

Eric Burton

Eric Burton

Vice President, Tools, Technology, and Quality

Comcast

Eric Burton is Vice President, Tools, Technology, and Quality overseeing desktop tools, customer facing support tools and content, ITGs and troubleshooting solutions, quality, performance management, and coaching. He plays an important role in developing Customer Service strategy at Comcast, working closely with his peers across the Divisions, National COEs, and Headquarters. Eric is squarely focused on Comcast’s goal to make the customer experience the best product, through ensuring that employees and customers have the best possible tools, and that quality and coaching programs reinforce and support that goal. Eric is focused on identifying winning behaviors that will help build a culture of Ownership at all levels of the organization.

Prior to joining Comcast, Eric was Group Vice President, Care Shared Services at Time Warner Cable. In that role, Eric was responsible for outsourced operations, alternative care channels, reporting and analytics, care technology, quality and customer perspective, and voice operations. Eric also held a variety of executive Operations and Technology leadership positions at Time Warner Cable, and having worked his way up through the ranks has extensive front-line leadership experience as well.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, is a graduate of the Tuck School of Business Executive Program, and completed the CTAM Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

He resides in his native Southern California with his wife and two daughters and enjoys time with family, trail running, mountain-biking, and generally being outdoors as much as possible.

Wyatt Barnett

Wyatt Barnett

Senior Director, Industry and Association Affairs

NCTA - The Internet & Television Association

Wyatt Barnett serves as Senior Director, Technology Enablement in NCTA’s Creative Services department. He helps the association with creative technical solutions while concurrently serving as lead curator and tour guide for NCTA’s recently renovated Public Advocacy Space.

Wyatt has worked at NCTA in a variety of technology roles since joining the association in 2000. He worked on the team that crafted the annual trade show – The Cable Show and later INTX – for over a decade, successfully delivering and scaling industry exhibits and stage presentations for high-profile audiences.

Rob Stoddard

Robert (Rob) Stoddard

Retired

NCTA - The Internet & Television Association

Following a career in journalism and government, Rob Stoddard worked for more than three decades in senior positions in communications, public relations, and public affairs serving the cable industry.

Rob’s early career found him working as a news assistant at the Washington, DC, bureau of ABC Radio, followed by stints as a news director and correspondent for radio stations in Keene, NH and Springfield, MA. He went on to work as a desk editor and regional executive for United Press International in Boston, before joining the staff of U.S. Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-KS) as Press Secretary in Washington, DC. His cable career began as Washington Bureau Chief for Cable TV Business Magazine and other telecommunications and defense industry trade publications of Denver-based Cardiff Publishing Company. From there he moved on to lead public relations and corporate communications for the Cable Telecommunications Association (CATA), Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T Broadband, then the largest cable multiple system operator in the United States. Rob’s career was capped by a 20-year run with what was then the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) as Senior Vice President for Communications & Public Affairs. After the association changed its name to NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, Rob became Senior Vice President for Industry & Association Affairs, retiring in January 2022.

Rob is a member of the Cable Television Pioneers as well as the Virginia Cable Hall of Fame. He’s been recognized with major diversity awards from the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and the Washington, DC / Baltimore Chapter of The WICT Network. He also has been inducted into the PRNews Hall of Fame. He proudly represented NCTA as a member of the industry Customer Care Committee (now C5) for nearly 20 years, from its inception at NCTA through the stewardship of CTAM and finally its permanent home at The Cable Center. In recognition of his meritorious service to The Cable Center and C5, Rob was conferred as a C5 Emeritus in 2022.

Gibbs Jones

Gibbs Jones

C5 Emeritus
Owner (Spartanburg)

ARCpoint Labs

Gibbs is a customer experience executive with over 25 years of customer experience leadership and expertise in the design, optimization and implementation of customer contact operations. Gibbs has combined skill in the human and technology side of customer contact operations, including the procurement and installation of ACD equipment, workforce management and CRM systems. He has directed the start-up of multiple customer contact operations, with industry expertise in consumer electronics, communications, retail, manufacturing, financial services, banking, and direct sales.

Gibbs has over ten years experience in the Cable Industry. Most recently Gibbs was the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience for Suddenlink Communications. Gibbs worked with Suddenlink’s six regional senior vice presidents and the managers of its customer-contact call centers in Arizona, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia to measure and improve Customer Satisfaction through transactional and relationship Net Promoter Programs and JD Power Research Studies.

Gibbs was also responsible for the company’s social media strategy where he made sure Suddenlink was active in the major social networking channels and found new ways to improve customer loyalty in this space.

Currently Gibbs owns two ARCpoint Labs locations. ARCpoint is a leader in the B to C and B to B drug and alcohol testing industry. Additionally, Gibbs has a consulting practice that helps companies improve their customer experience.

Gibbs is a Certified Net Promoter® Associate and has been a speaker at various conferences and is frequently called upon to discuss considerations related to measuring and improving the customer experience, exceptional contact center management, and optimizing the employee experience.

 

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