Kim Kelly, the highest-ranking woman in MSO operations, is stepping down
as Insight Communications Co. Inc. president and chief operating officer, the
company said late Friday afternoon.
Often called 'the busiest woman in cable' and a forceful and highly visible
proponent of the cable business, Kelly, 47, said in the Insight statement that
she 'decided that it was time for me to pursue other opportunities.'
She added in the release, 'Clearly, this has been a difficult decision. I
love this company and the people that make up Insight. They are the best in the
industry, and I have been proud to work with them.'
Kelly -- who transitioned from banking to becoming Insight’s chief financial
officer and, finally, into operations -- couldn’t be reached for comment
Friday.
The release said she’d be staying on until Nov. 30 to ease the transition,
and she is available to consult for up to two years after that -- an indication
that the decision in fact was hers and that she wanted a chance to possibly seek
a CEO job elsewhere.
Sources have said Kelly was in the running for the top job at Adelphia
Communications Corp., for example, before Bill Schleyer and Ron Cooper were
hired.
Insight CEO Michael Willner said in the release that Kelly, who was with
Insight for 13 years, would be missed but she’d assembled 'a terrific team of
senior operating executives both in the systems and at the home office. All of
them will continue to provide the same top-quality management that they have in
the past.'
Insight -- the No. 9 U.S. MSO, with about 1.4 million subscribers -- said it
was considering internal and external candidates to replace
Kelly.
The executives who reported to Kelly will report to Willner, who previously was CEO and COO of Insight before Kelly became COO in 1998. She became president a year ago.
Co-chair of this past May’s Cable Positive benefit
dinner, Kelly was named 'Woman of the Year' by Women in Cable &
Telecommunications in 2002 and is chairwoman of the Cabletelevision Advertising
Bureau. In 2001 she received the National Cable & Telecommunications
Association’s 'Vanguard Award for Leadership.'
