Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has tapped a cable industry vet to run Access, the unit that operates the Google Fiber and Webpass businesses.
Dinesh (Dinni) Jain, most recently COO of Time Warner Cable, started as CEO of Access today, the company announced in this blog post.
Jain takes on that role almost seven months after Gregory McCray, the former CEO of Access, stepped down after just five months on the job. McCray had come on board to replace Craig Barratt, who was named CEO of Barefoot Networks about a year ago.
As the head of Access, Jain will lead the way from the company’s headquarters in California.
Jain, an exec who is also late of what used to be Insight Communications (acquired by TWC in 2012) and NTL (now part of Virgin Media/Liberty Global) in Europe, is also coming on board following a recent string of tweaks to Alphabet’s strategy for Access.
In the fall of 2016, Google Fiber hit the pause button on its ambitious expansion plans so it could concentrate in its current deployments and pursue less expensive wireless alternatives following the acquisition of Webpass.
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Last week, Access confirmed that Webpass was winding down operations in Boston following a review of its business there, while continuing on in markets such as Denver, Seattle, Chicago, Miami, Oakland, San Francisco, and San Diego.
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Cathy Fogler, another vet from the cable industry, joined Access last year to head up sales and marketing.
