Jacqui Vines (right) and Sharon Kleinpeter, outside the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge.

In the Company of Leaders

You Can Blaze A Trail

When Jacqui Vines became General Manager of Cox’s newly acquired Baton Rouge operation, among the challenges she inherited were tenuous relationships throughout the community. She quickly set out to cultivate a positive culture – both inside and outside the company. One of her first recruits was Director of Government and Public Affairs Sharon Kleinpeter, former head of the Louisiana Cable Television Association and a respected, well-known leader in Baton Rouge’s business and political communities. Forging a collaboration based on trust and mutual respect, the dynamic duo developed a strategic roadmap for Jacqui to build vital relationships in the community. The result, as both describe it, has been “pure magic.” With the rest of the local management team now in place, Cox Baton Rouge has generated strong growth, negotiated a favorable long-term franchise agreement and spearheaded the development of an innovative office park. Jacqui even became the first African-American female to be named “Businessperson of the Year” in Baton Rouge. Jacqui and Sharon’s collaboration proves that partners in a vision can make anything happen.