Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge continued to get the old band back together Tuesday, naming his former second in command at Cablevision Systems, John Bickham, chief operating officer at the St. Louis-based MSO.
Bickham, a 26-year veteran of the cable industry, is the second former Cablevision executive that Rutledge has hired at his new company since becoming CEO in December. Prior to Bickham's appointment, former Cablevision EVP of marketing Jonathan Hargis joined Charter as EVP and chief marketing officer in April.
Bickham and Rutledge have a long history together - Bickham served 18 years at the second largest MSO in the country in various roles, including about 10 years while Rutledge was president. He left Time Warner Cable in 2004 to join his old boss at Cablevision when Rutledge joined that company in 2002.
Bickham left Cablevision in November, after serving eight years at the Bethpage, N.Y.-based MSO, most recently as as president of cable and communications.
In 1986 Bickham was a founding executive of KBLCOM, a cable company that partnered with ATC and owned cable systems with 1.7 million customers. His tenure with KBLCOM ended in 1995 as president and COO.
Bickham serves on the Cable Center Board and was honored with the industry's Vanguard Award for Cable Operations Management in 2007. He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&I University.
At Charter, Bickham will manage all operations across the MSO's footprint, consisting of about 4.8 million customer relationships.
"John knows this industry well, and appreciates what it takes to run operations most effectively," Rutledge said in a statement. "We've worked together for many years and I'm confident in his ability to help this organization achieve its full potential."
