Rutledge to Head Charter

Recent resignation from Cablevision paves way to join cable company Feb. 13

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/19/2011 6:25:25 PM

Thomas Rutledge, who resigned as COO of Cablevision last week after almost a decade with the cable company, Monday was named President and CEO of Charter.

He comes aboard Feb. 13, and will also be a member of the board of directors.

Rutledge succeeds Michael Lovett, who said in October he planned to step down when a successor was named. Lovett will remain atop the company until that Feb. 13 date.

"After conducting a comprehensive search process, the Board is delighted to welcome Tom to the Charter team," said Eric L. Zinterhofer, chairman of the Charter board Board of Charter, said, . Tom is a highly accomplished executive with a long track record of success. "He has the rare combination of operational expertise and strategic vision to lead Charter through its promising next phase of growth. We look forward to working with him."

That combination includes a stint as president of Time Warner Cable. He began his cable career in 1977 at American Television & Communications, which morphed into TWC.

Rutledge is on the board of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

Rutledge, 58, had been COO of Cablevision since 2004 and before that was president of Time Warner Cable. A 34-year veteran of the cable industry, he was chairman of the NCTA from 2008-10 and was a 2011 Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame honoree.