Longtime Cox Communications executive Jacqui Vines has announced she will retire at the end of this year. Vines, a 30-year veteran of the telecommunications industry, joined Cox in 1992 and has served as senior vice president and region manager since 2000, where she leads nearly 2,000 employees across a three-state region.
Vines, 56, says early retirement has always been part of her long-term plan and that she intends to take six months relaxing, enjoying her family and deciding what the next chapter of life will be.
“Every investment I’ve made since I started working was to retire at 55,” she says. “I just turned 56 and I’m the kind of woman who follows my dream, and I kind of looked at it and said, ‘I love being a cable lady. I love how I’ve lived my life, but I do think I want to do something else.’”
During her tenure at Cox, Vines helped navigate the company through an era of tumultuous change in the telecommunications industry. She also served with dozens of volunteer and civic organizations. She is one of the few female CEOs in Baton Rouge and one of even a smaller group of African-American female CEOs, a dynamic she says she never took for granted.
“I’ve wondered a lot about why there aren’t more of us,” she says. “Men in general had a head start … and it’s a responsibility for all of us to prepare someone to come into a new role. I don’t know if men typically identify women to do that.”
In a prepared statement, Cox calls Vines “a visionary leader in the telecommunications industry for the last 30 years, rising from the ranks as a receptionist to her most recent role.”
Cox expects to name an interim replacement in the near future. Vines and her family, including four adopted teenage daughters and two stepsons, will remain in Baton Rouge.
“Her legacy will live on in her passion for selfless service to Cox’s employees, customers and communities,” says Cox’s statement. “We look forward to honoring Jacqui and celebrating her years of success at a series of events during the next few months.”
—Stephanie Riegel
