Matt Zelesko, a top video and IP applications engineering exec at Time Warner Cable, is leaving the New York-based operator at the end of this month to join Comcast in Philadelphia.
Zelesko will start at Comcast sometime in July as senior vice president, software development engineering, where he will assume a leadership role on the MSO’s consumer applications team, a Comcast spokesperson said. X1, Comcast’s next-gen, IP-capable platform that features a cloud-based interface, is part of that group’s responsibilities.
Zelesko, who joined Time Warner Cable in July 2011, currently serves as senior vice president, converged technology group, at TWC, where he has played a key role in the MSO’s development and deployment of multiscreen applications for platforms such as the Xbox One, Roku, Samsung smart TVs, Web browsers, and iOS and Android mobile devices. He has also been heavily involved in the development of a cloud-based interface for set-tops and other devices, and TWC’s strategy for the Reference Design Kit (RDK), a preintegrated software stack for set-tops and gateways that is being managed by Comcast, TWC and Liberty Global.
In 2013, Multichannel News recognized Zelesko as a top industry engineering exec in his field in part for his leadership in developing IP video apps and for helping TWC develop and adopt an “agile” product and services development model.
A TWC official confirmed that Zelesko will be leaving at the end of the month and that the MSO has not yet named a successor. Time Warner Cable, which is recently in the process of being acquired by Charter Communications, recently lost two top engineering execs to retirement – CTO Mike LaJoie, and Mike Hayashi, TWC’s former EVP, architecture, development and engineering.
The coming move to Comcast is a return of sorts for Zelesko.
Zelesko, who briefly served as CEO of Internet TV startup Joost before joining TWC, was formerly the vice president of engineering for Comcast Interactive Media (CIM), where he headed up development and delivery of all CIM web properties, including an online video portal once known as Fancast.
