With more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications, media and technology industry, Amy Lynch still gets a kick out helping customers get the right cable TV and internet experience.
Lynch, the regional vice president of Comcast Washington, said she enjoys connecting people to what’s important in their lives.
“We have passionate, competent people who work for us who are committed to making the customer’s experience better. We’re all in this together,” said Lynch, our latest Geek of the Week. “Just this week, I talked to a customer who had been with us for eight years. They had intermittent Wi-Fi, and the router they bought from a retail chain was old and outdated and they had no idea. We set her up with Xfinity TV, the X1 voice remote and a Comcast router. She was thrilled with the products and the experience. I love it when the customer gets what they want, how they want it and when they want it.”
She relocated to Comcast’s Lynnwood, Wash., office last year to join the 4,800 Comcast employees who work in the state. Prior to being appointed regional VP in 2017, she served as the VP of Engineering Operations for Comcast, where her portfolio included the design and deployment of next generation network infrastructure. Lynch also served as the regional VP of Technical Operations for the California region, where she lead a team of more than 2,500 in the successful roll out and support of new products including X1, XFINITY Home Security, cloud-based services and advanced business services. She was named one of the San Francisco Business Times’ Most Influential Women.
A New England native with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut, Lynch also holds leadership certificates from Dartmouth, Tuck School of Business and Harvard. She sits on the Washington Roundtable Board of Directors and is an active member of Women in Technology International, Society of Cable Television Engineers and Women in Cable Telecommunications.
Lynch calls herself a leader, coach, teacher, engineer, operator, visionary, mother and wife. She lives in Kirkland, Wash., with her husband.
“I live by carpe diem,” Lynch said. “I look at life as more of a verb than a mission statement.”
Learn more about this week’s Geek of the Week, Amy Lynch:
What do you do, and why do you do it? “I lead, develop and motivate people and teams to connect people to what’s important. At the end of the day, what we do matters. We are in a small way supporting dreams at Comcast, not just objectives around a business plan. It’s a privilege to be leading an innovative entertainment technology brand that delivers enjoyment into people’s lives.”
What’s the single most important thing people should know about your field? “Big companies like ours can get a bad rap. I’m here to tell you that we’re serious about caring for our employees and our customers. We want to be around another 50+ years. We are working very hard to improve the customer experience here locally. In fact, it’s all about being local. We have 4,700 employees who work for Comcast and call Washington home. We live local, hire local and care local.”
Where do you find your inspiration? “I find inspiration in every single employee, every single customer and in the stories in between. As the market leader, I do town halls, connect with employees and speak with customers on a regular basis. We rolled out the Net Promoter System (NPS) in 2016. Part of our culture includes having employees at every level connect with customers. And it starts with me. As the leader of the Washington market, I call 10 customers every month. We talk about both the good and bad experiences. The good conversations give us something to celebrate and validate we are on the right path. The not so good ones are learning moments and opportunity for change.”
What’s the one piece of technology you couldn’t live without, and why? “I love our Xfinity TV and voice remote. … I also need my cell phone, an iPhone 7 Plus. It keeps me connected. I love apps that connect, simplify and entertain. In addition to Xfinity Stream TV, Xfinity xfi, I use Yelp, Waze, Flipboard and Myfitnesspal. I fire up Spotify too. I love music. I could probably play Name That Tune in three notes. I read a story recently that you can tell a person’s personality by their iTunes content. I keep meaning to take the quiz that went with it. My iTunes is filled with every type of music — pop, rock, classical. I have a lot of favorites — Van Morrison, Pearl Jam (Eddie Vedder!), and Coldplay to name a few.”
What’s your workspace like, and why does it work for you? “My favorite workspace is where a lot of our customers and employees are. We have 12 field offices and 17 retail stores across Washington state. I try to get out to connect with employees as often as I can. The picture above was taken at our Lynnwood Xfinity Store. I’m invariably listening and asking employees about what’s going well and asking what can be improved. My intentions are to understand how to improve their experience as well as the customers’. I ask a lot of questions. I seek to understand. What processes need to change? Can we think about this differently?”
Your best tip or trick for managing everyday work and life. (Help us out, we need it.) “In my opinion, there is no such thing as balance. It’s all about juggling. I have to prioritize and make choices every single day. I like things planned out and live by my calendar. I’ve found the trick is preparation, communication and setting expectations around time. Some days I am better at juggling than other days.”
Mac, Windows or Linux? “Windows.”
Kirk, Picard, or Janeway? “Capt. Janeway.”
Transporter, Time Machine or Cloak of Invisibility? “Time Machine. I am a geek at heart and love technology and science … with the things being developed today, we are not so far away!”
If someone gave me $1 million to launch a startup, I would … “do something that combined science, health and people. I’m big into DNA/genetics and science. I enjoy reading about advancements in science and health. For $1 million, I might launch a startup that develops apps or programs that connect people with modern advancements in medicine or something…or start a robotics company to improve lives of children via education.”
Your role models (And why?): “Albert Einstein. Margaret Thatcher. Eleanor Roosevelt. Thomas Edison. Scientists, leaders, inventors and trailblazers. These people didn’t have it easy. They failed a lot in order to realize success. Persistence and grit, that’s what I admire.”
Best gadget ever: “iPhone!”
First computer: “You’ll laugh, but I don’t remember.”
Current phone: iPhone 7 Plus. I definitely want the X.”
Favorite app: “I use my phone for a lot of everyday stuff but if I could choose between spending time with my phone or reading a book, I’d choose the book. I’m a big reader. And I like to read actual paper books. A lot of people I know have the Kindle but I love real books. I highlight them, I write all over them. I destroy them. My husband thinks I’m crazy. I read three books [recently]. It was so satisfying. They were ‘Nudge,’ ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’ and ‘All the Light We Cannot See.'”
Favorite cause: “STEM and women and girls. It’s important that girls are encouraged at an early age to pursue things like science, technology, engineering and math. No field of study should be off-limits. This was not my experience growing up. There was a bias toward steering girls to more traditional roles. So many girls, so many lost opportunities. Being a role model in a space that continues to be male-dominated is critically important to me. I want women and girls to be empowered and to know they can do anything they put their minds to. I’m excited to see how I can join the conversation here in the Puget Sound.
Website: Comcast Washington
LinkedIn: Amy Lynch
