Atlantic Broadband CEO Richard Shea has resigned from the mid-sized cable operator to pursue other interests, ABB parent Cogeco Communications said Thursday. Atlantic Broadband chief financial officer Patrick Bratton will serve as interim CEO of the company while a search for a permanent CEO begins.
Atlantic Broadband is the ninth largest cable operator in the U.S., with about 307,000 video service subscribers in 11 states -- Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, the company was purchased by Canadian telecom giant Cogeco Communications in 2012 for $1.36 billion.
Shea joined Atlantic Broadband in 2003 and has held several positions, including chief information officer and chief operating officer, before being named CEO in 2015.
Shea is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served as an officer in the army overseas and in the United States before achieving the rank of Captain.
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He steered the company through several acquisitions, including the $1.4 billion purchase of MetroCast in March 2018 that added 120,000 broadband and 76,000 video customers to the cable operator.
Cogeco said Shea will remain with the company for a short period of time to ensure a smooth transition.
“On behalf of my colleagues and the entire Cogeco Communications team, I’d like to thank Rich for his contribution to Atlantic Broadband and to our company and wish him every success in his future endeavours,” Cogeco Communications CEO Philippe Jetté said in a press release.
