Neil Smit, CEO of Charter Communications, is moving to Comcast Cable Communications as president, the company announced Jan. 22. That will put an executive with lots of Internet-access experience atop the nation's largest cable operator.
Smit will report to Comcast COO Steve Burke, and will oversee all business operations.
Burke had been both president of Comcast Cable and COO of the parent company, Comcast Communications. When Comcast acquires NBC Universal, Burke will have an expanded role over that much-expanded business, said a Comcast source, so it made sense to bring someone in to run Comcast Cable under Burke.
Before joining Charter in 2005, Smit headed up Time Warner's America Online Internet-access service, and was with AOL before that.
"Neil is widely respected throughout the cable industry as a strong leader with deep knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of topics. We look forward to having him on our team as he helps take us to the next level of our company's evolution," said Comcast Chairman/CEO Brian Roberts in announcing the move.
