Melanie Penna

Melanie Penna serves as Vice President of Human Resources and HRMS Implementation Business Liaison for Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, the country’s largest cable company.  In this capacity, Penna is leading the team responsible for the Company’s implementation of SAP, its first integrated HR management system. 

Prior to this role, Penna was responsible for setting strategic direction and developing, communicating and administering policies and programs to support its 80,000+ employees throughout the country, as well as providing human resources leadership and expertise to the company’s Corporate Headquarters, its Headquarters’ satellite locations, and its content entities including Comcast Entertainment Network (which includes E! Entertainment Television and Style Network), The Golf Channel, Versus (formerly Outdoor Life Network), G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, FearNet, Exercise TV and five regional SportsNets.

Penna joined Comcast in 1995 and was promoted to Vice President of Human Resources in 1999.  She has assumed increased human resources responsibilities for Comcast including partnering with senior leadership to ensure that the human resource function aligns with and supports company business objectives by overseeing due diligence, transition strategy, communications, and implementation relative to mergers and acquisitions. 

Prior to joining Comcast, Penna was responsible for employee relations issues at Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation (AHERF) and handled compensation issues at Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania.  Prior to her career in Human Resources, Penna was a member of the litigation team at Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis and a member of the labor and employment team at Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen, two large legal defense firms in Center City Philadelphia.

Penna is a member of Women in Cable and Telecommunications, Inc. (WICT) where she serves on the Executive Committee and on the National Board as Immediate Past Chair.  She is a mentor to female managers within the industry as part of the formal Mentoring Program of the Philadelphia Chapter of WICT.  In 2004, Penna was an inaugural recipient of the WICT – Philadelphia Liberty Award, an award given for distinguished leadership in the Cable industry.  In 2005, she received the Young Executive of Distinction Award by the Pyramid Club Young Executives Committee. 

Penna is a member of Cable & Telecommunications’ Human Resources Association, Society for Human Resources Management, Professional Women’s Roundtable, and a member of the Forum of Executive Women where she serves on the Women in Policy and Politics Committee.  

A 2005 graduate of Leadership, Inc. – Philadelphia, Penna is also a member of the Board of Directors and is Chair of the Personnel Committee of Children and Families First, a family advocacy and support agency serving families throughout Delaware.

Penna received a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Summa Cum Laude, from Saint Mary’s College at Notre Dame and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, With Highest Honors, from the University of Pittsburgh where she also received a Certificate in Labor Relations and Personnel Management.