www.philly-tech.com/archives/2000/07/livingood.asp -
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Published on: 3/8/2001
Last Visited: 3/8/2001
Jason Livingood , Comcast Commercial Corp
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Thirty under 30 : Jason Livingood , Comcast Commercial CorpStories by Claire Furia Smith.Profiles by Jill P. Capuzzo.Photos by Brad Bower.
When Jason Livingood was 24 , he was recruited by Comcast Corp. to help launch a broadband cable-modem Internet service for residential use.Hiring Jason was a pretty smart move , said Franklyn Athias , who brought Livingood on board to assist with the company's new Comcast@Home division.
He came in pretty much as a go-getter.You point him in the right direction and he's gone..
As senior systems engineer , Livingood worked right alongside Athias around the clock , building the network , installing e-mail servers and Web servers and an infrastructure to support them.
In fact , Livingood's contributions to the project were so impressive , Athias put him on an even bigger job a year and a half later.That task was to help build a broadband Internet service that would target small- and medium-size businesses and schools.
He basically did the same thing with this , Athias said.He ran off and took the initiative and built the infrastructure.He knows it better than I or anyone else..
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We have lots of happy customers , said Livingood , who is now 28.
Livingood co-founded the venture in 1997 with five other people , including Athias.In his role as director of technical services for the subsidiary , Livingood oversaw the organization's business strategy , product development and management , network operations and technical support.The Drexel University graduate said he is most proud of his success in building a highly talented technical team for the business , whose staff has grown to 50.
Customers of Comcast Commercial Online range from advertising agencies to online companies to manufacturing companies.Dozens of public , private and parochial schools are also connected to the Internet through Comcast's cable network.
Most ISPs were talking about how the Internet access business had become [ a commodity ] , said Livingood , who lives in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.Coming late in the ISP market , we wanted to start at a higher level on the food chain..
Livingood said that instead of just providing access , Comcast Commercial Online will offer broadband Internet , local and long distance voice , application hosting and Web hosting and other services which will be phased in during the next year.
Born and raised in West Reading , Livingood graduated from Drexel in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in business and administration.He said his experience with co-op jobs at Mobil Oil and Bell Atlantic helped him decide to major in marketing and international business.
After college , Livingood spent almost three years working for Weidenhammer Systems Corp. , an IT consulting firm based in Wyomissing , Berks County.There he started and managed a department that focused on the Internet and other new technologies.The reputation he gained for his expertise in the young field of Web development led to invitations to speak at local chambers of commerce and IT organizations.
Today , Livingood tries to spend his few hours of free time in the outdoors.He enjoys mountain biking and scuba diving , and has skied in Vermont , France and Italy.
He has also been participating in driving club track events , with a goal of eventually competing in amateur sports car races.
One day , Livingood hopes to launch and run his own technology business.But for now , he has his work cut out for him at Comcast.
The company is merging Comcast Commercial Online with three other Comcast divisions that serve commercial customers.Livingood is in charge of Internet product management and new Internet product development for the newly formed unit , currently called Comcast Telecommunications.A renaming and a launch of the new business unit is expected soon.
Everyone decided we could much more effectively attack and serve the market by bringing all the organizations under one roof , said Livingood.
Claire Furia Smith is a writer in Havertown who last covered top IT salaries.
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