Jeff Shell has been ousted from his post as CEO of NBCUniversal following a misconduct investigation, which found an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman in the company.
Comcast, the parent company of NBCU, and Shell announced the news in a joint statement, saying the two parties have mutually agreed that Shell will depart effective immediately following a third-party investigation into a complaint of inappropriate conduct.
“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal,” Shell wrote in a memo to staff. “I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret. I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 19 years has been a privilege.”
A successor to Shell has not been named. Shell’s senior team will now report directly to Mike Cavanagh, president of Comcast Corporation.
In a memo that sent shockwaves through the company, Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts and Cavanagh wrote, “We are disappointed to share this news with you. We built this company on a culture of integrity. Nothing is more important than how we treat each other. You should count on your leaders to create a safe and respectful workplace. When our principles and policies are violated, we will always move quickly to take appropriate action, as we have done here.”
Shell assumed the role of CEO on Jan. 1, 2020, shortly before the pandemic upended almost every aspect of the company, as the successor to Steve Burke. He reported directly to Comcast’s CEO Brian Roberts and was responsible for overseeing everything from news and entertainment TV network’s, the film studio, theme parks and other divisions.
A Comcast veteran, he joined the company in 2004 to oversee cable channels from Fox Cable Networks Group. Shell previously spearheaded international operations out of London from 2011 to 2013 before segueing to run Universal Pictures.
More to come…