BREAKING NEWS: NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell is ousted after admitting to an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a woman at the company
- NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell has been ousted from his role after he admitted to having an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a woman at the company
- Shell is married to Laura, who previously worked for Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky: the other woman has not been named
- Shell in a statement apologized for letting his colleagues down: His subordinates will now report to Comcast President Mike Cavanagh
NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell has been ousted from his role after he admitted to having an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a woman at the company, Comcast announced on Sunday.
Comcast has said it made the decision to remove Shell following an investigation into his conduct by outside counsel.
A company-wide email said Shell’s team will now report to Comcast President Mike Cavanagh, CNBC reports.
The relationship was exposed during an investigation by an outside counsel to investigate a complaint against Shell.
Shell is married to Laura Fay Shell, who previously worked for Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.
In a statement, Shell said: ‘Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal. 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.’
NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell (pictured in June) has been ousted from his role after he admitted to having an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a woman at the company
Cavanagh and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in their own joint statement: ‘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.’
A replacement for Shell has not yet been named.
His departure comes at a critical time for NBCUniversal and Comcast.
Their streaming service, Peacock, launched in April 2020 and has made progress, but is still much smaller than services backed by industry rivals.
In the fourth quarter, Peacock surpassed 20 million paid subscribers but lost nearly $1 billion on an adjusted basis, the company said.
Shell has been at Comcast for over 20 years.
He took over as CEO in January 2020.