Johnnie has been named executive director of external affairs for Comcast Corporation and vice president of external affairs for Comcast Cable.
Johnnie previously served as regional vice president of government affairs for Comcast’s California region, where he spearheaded all aspects of Comcast’s governmental affairs activities and legislative advocacy efforts in California. He reports to Bret Perkins, vice president of external and government affairs, and ultimately to David L. Cohen, executive vice president at Comcast Corporation.
“Johnnie has done fantastic work for Comcast in our California region and is highly respected among legislative and policy circles,” said Mr. Perkins. “His strong industry and government affairs experience will be a great asset to our corporate external affairs team.”
In his new position, Johnnie will be based at Comcast’s Philadelphia headquarters and will develop policy positions and advocacy strategies in support of the company’s various lines of business. He will serve as the principal interface between Comcast and the national Asian Pacific Islander community organizations. He will also support Comcast’s Legislative Affairs group in working with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
A seasoned cable veteran with more than 20 years of industry experience, Giles was recognized in 2010 by CableFax Magazine as one of the “Most Influential Minorities in Cable.” He joined Comcast in 2003 and has led the company’s government affairs efforts in California since that time. Before that he held positions at the Chronicle Publishing Company in San Francisco, working on the mergers and acquisitions team and eventually moved into the Chronicle’s cable television division. Giles also worked for Age Wave, Inc., a venture capital/incubator firm from 2000 to 2003 and was the managing partner at Blackwave, LLC, an Internet startup from 2004 to 2007.
Giles has been active within the Asian Pacific Islander community for nearly three decades. He currently serves on the executive board of the Center for Asian American Media. He is secretary and founding member of Asian Americans for Good Government, which supports API candidates for elected office. Giles also is the founding board chairman for the California Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce and sits on the advisory boards of the Asian Pacific American Public Affairs Association (APAPAA) and the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the largest API membership organization in the United States. He is a current board member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Bay Area Council and is an expert advisor to the California Emerging Technology Fund.
A graduate of University of California-Berkeley with a bachelor of science degree in life sciences, Giles received his MBA from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business.
