Cox Talk Heats Up Again With C-Suite Hire

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When it comes to assurances, Cox Media Group President Kim Guthrie hasn’t been shy in setting the record straight on rumors and speculation regarding the Atlanta-based broadcast media company. No, the radio stations are not for sale, she told RBR+TVBR in March. Last Tuesday, as most media organizations breathlessly reported that Cox was putting its TV stations up for sale, Guthrie told RBR+TVBR by e-mail, “We are looking not to sell our stations, but to pursue a merger or partnership.”


Several industry observers still aren’t convinced. A new hire made July 31 by Cox Enterprises only furthered the gossip.

Taking the role for Cox Enterprises — parent to Cox Media Group, Cox Communications and Cox Automotive (home to Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book) — as SVP/Strategy and Corporate Development is Luís Avila-Marco.

Avila-Marco has been an independent consultant and corporate advisor for technology companies since May 2014, following a nearly six-year stint in Silicon Valley as EVP/Strategy & Corporate Development for Juniper Networks.

At Cox, Avila-Marco will be charged with leading the company’s corporate strategy. He will oversee a team “that focuses on diversification and long-term growth outside of the company’s core businesses,” the company said. Avila-Marco also will serve as an adviser to Cox’s existing portfolio of companies “as they explore future opportunities.”

This points to Cox Media Group’s plans to partner up, or merge with, another company.

At Juniper Networks, Avila-Marco was responsible for corporate strategy and growing the company through mergers, acquisitions, business development and venture investments. From May 1994-June 2008, he was based at Cisco-owned Scientific-Atlanta, where he rose from an engineering manager to become VP/Corporate Strategic Planning.

Avila-Marco is a native of Spain.

“We’re excited about what Luis brings to the table for Cox,” Cox Enterprises EVP/CFO Dallas Clement said. “We’re a company that thinks long term, and Luis’s experience will help us as we manage our portfolio of businesses’ plan for success today — and in the future.”