Philadelphia --In one of his first acts as Comcast
Cable Communications Inc. president, Steve Burke made Michael S. Tallent his second in
command, as executive vice president of Comcast Corp.'s cable unit.
Tallent, who was senior vice president of finance and
administration at Comcast Cable, might have felt passed over when Comcast president Brian
Roberts tapped Burke, a former executive with The Walt Disney Co., to run Comcast's
core cable operations earlier this month. After former Comcast Cable president Thomas
Baxter resigned in January, Roberts decided to look outside of the cable industry for his
successor.
Comcast insiders said Burke -- who saw that Tallent had
assumed much of the day-to-day operating tasks in the cable division, even under Baxter --
moved quickly to enhance Tallent's standing in the company.
The board of directors approved Tallent's promotion
last Wednesday, and the announcement came the following day.
Tallent has been with Comcast since 1991. Before that, he
was president of Storer Communications Inc., an MSO that Comcast owned along with
Tele-Communications Inc. Before Storer, Tallent spent seven years at accounting firm
Coopers & Lybrand.
Company insiders said Tallent is well-liked, he has a good
sense of humor and he is fond of telling colleagues, "Take yourself lightly and your
business seriously."
Burke said in a prepared statement, "Mike has made
important contributions to Comcast Cable, and this promotion highlights the prominent role
that he will play in the cable division's future. I look forward to working closely
with Mike as we take Comcast Cable to the next level."
Comcast is the fourth-largest domestic MSO, with about 4.3
million cable subscribers.
