Charter is close to hiring Neil Smit, president of AOL Access Business, as CEO, according to Multichannel News (sub. req.).(I actually heard about this over the weekend but before I could nail it down, Multi had the story.) If this turns out to be the case, Charter is zigging where others might zag, opting for someone with internet access and strong customer relationship experience but without any cable operating credentials. At Access, created as part of the late 2004 reorg, Smit oversees dial-up, broadband, and access partnerships, which should include deals like the one with Time Warner’s Roadrunner. Before that, since joining AOL in 2000, Smit has been EVP-member development; SVP-product and programming team; COO-AOL Local; and COO-MapQuest. He’s also a former Navy SEAL with 10 years in consumer package goods. (I couldn’t make this stuff up.)
The suburban St. Louis-based company majority owned by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen has been led by Bob May as interim president and CEO since Carl Vogel left earlier this year. Vogel is now the vice chairman of Echostar. May’s interim status as well as that of the CFO, CMO and general counsel, is beginning to try the patience of many, including analysts. They want stability. UBS analyst Aryeh Bourkoff expects the company to be more aggressive over the next 18 months as it pushes telephony and video sub retention. Smit’s background could be a plus … if that’s who the company winds up with.
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