Leading SCTE Into the Future

It’s an incredible honor—and a deeply exciting opportunity—to step into the role of Chairman of the Board for SCTE. As I shared in my first remarks to the industry at the Chapter Leadership Conference, I feel both humbled by the responsibility and energized by the path ahead. SCTE is a remarkable organization at the center of broadband innovation, and we are poised for a future defined by transformation, leadership, and growth.

By the time this article reaches you, I will have chaired my first SCTE Board of Directors meeting—and all hands will be on deck for our biggest event of the year: SCTE^® TechExpo. Visit SCTETechExpo.com and you’ll see just how dynamic TechExpo promises to be, with industry-leading panel discussions, hands-on workshops, technical sessions, masterclasses from broadband pioneers and more opportunities to collaborate with the brightest minds in broadband. It’s a reflection of what SCTE does best: convene, educate, and inspire those shaping the future of connectivity.

When I addressed the chapter leaders, I reflected on how far we’ve come—and how fast the future is arriving. I referenced Electric Dreams, a 1984 cult film where a personal computer becomes self-aware after a freak lightning storm. Back then, this seemed like a quirky fantasy. Today, we’re interacting daily with AI-powered platforms, generative models, and predictive systems that blur the line between imagination and reality. We are no longer preparing for the future—it’s here. The question now is how we, as an industry, shape it.

Earlier in my life, I served five years in the Israeli military in special operations, and that time shaped me profoundly. I’m wired for action, for mission-focus, and for building high-performance teams that win—together! I bring that mindset into every leadership role I take on, including this one at SCTE.

But this isn’t just about work. I’m also a father to four incredible boys, one of whom is already an engineer. They remind me every day that the work we do matters—not just for today’s workforce, but for the next generation. The investments we make in education, training, and innovation are about creating a robust, inclusive, and future-ready industry.

SCTE is more than a technical society. It’s a community of people who care deeply about the future of connectivity and how communities across the country—and the world, live, work, create and play—now and in the years to come. As Chairman, I see my role as steward, champion, and challenger: to help us accelerate what networks and connectivity can achieve as we look toward the next frontier of human innovation.

To everyone reading this—whether you’re an SCTE member, vendor partner, operator, or engineer—I invite you to get involved, speak up, and lean into the opportunities ahead. From workforce development to standards leadership to TechExpo’s cutting-edge programming, SCTE is ready.

Let’s move forward—boldly, together.

Elad Nafshi,
Chairman of the Board, SCTE^®
a subsidiary of CableLabs^®

Elad Nafshi serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Network Officer for Comcast Connectivity and Platforms. In this role, he leads the unified core and access network teams that drive innovation, reliability, scalability, and development across our network capabilities. Elad drives strategy for the nation’s largest gigabit Internet network and is a global leader in 10G technology, which will allow Comcast to deliver multigigabit upload and download speeds to tens of millions of Americans.