A Surprise Send-Off in Laguna Beach

By K.C. Neel About 100 of Que Spaulding’s friends and colleagues gathered at Starz Encore chairman John Sie’s Italianate mansion in the hills above Laguna Beach during the Western Show to honor Spaulding as he heads into retirement. The party caught Spaulding, currently Starz Encore’s president of distribution, by surprise. Executives who have worked with and for Spaulding peppered the evening with anecdotes from his 25-year cable career, which began when Cablevision chairman Chuck Dolan hired him as a top Rainbow executive. In turn, Spaulding hired executives who have risen to the top of the industry, including Viacom’s Nicole Browning, Insight’s Pam Euler Halling and former Rainbow executive Katie McEnroe, among others. Sie hired Spaulding in 1991 to expand Encore’s distribution. It wasn’t the first time Sie called on Spaulding to help grow a business; he hired Spaulding in 1984 to sell Showtime to operators. Spaulding intends to relax for a while and spend time with his family. Industry executives who know him well don’t expect him to sit idle for long.
“He has much too much energy to sit still, and he is very well respected in this industry,” says one executive who has known Spaulding for years. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he resurfaces in the next couple of years doing something entrepreneurial—at least I hope he does.”