With a passion for people and creating a work environment that fosters employee growth and satisfaction, Michele Parks cites serving her internal customers – nearly 2,000 Cox Hampton Roads employees – as her favorite part of her job. As the vice president of Human Resources for the region’s top provider of broadband cable telecommunications and entertainment services, and an employer of choice, Michele oversees all aspects of Cox Hampton Roads’ human resources functions.
Beginning her HR management career in 1992 in the challenging hotel and restaurant sector, Michele served as a member of Walt Disney World Resorts HR management team. While there she helped design key performance metrics successfully driving increased customer satisfaction.
She transitioned to the cable telecommunications industry in 2001, when she joined Charter Communications Southeast Operating Division. As vice president of human resources, a role she describes as a career milestone, Michele established and oversaw the strategic direction for the operation’s human resources functions across 13 states and serving 5,000 employees. Under her leadership, employee opinion survey scores improved significantly and a performance management plan was successfully deployed to all employees.
Michele earned her Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Masters in business from Rochester Institute of Technology and certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). She is member of Women in Cable and Telecommunications (WICT) and of the Society for Human Resource Management.
Characterized as intense, energetic and fun-loving, Michele enjoys exercise and spending time with husband Doug and their five children.
