Ireland out as NBC U Stations/Network Operations Chief
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/21/2007 8:15:00 AM
NBC Universal stations chief Jay Ireland is leaving his role for a more senior position at NBC U parent company General Electric.
Ireland will leave his role as President, NBC Universal Television Stations and Network Operations in mid-July and become President/CEO of GE Asset Management. NBC U President/CEO Jeff Zucker announced Ireland's departure in an internal memo circulated today. NBC has not yet named a replacement.
The move comes at a time when many of the company's major owned-and-operated stations are posting middling ratings and its syndication arm has suffered recent misses like The Megan Mullally Show. NBC's owned-and-operated stations in big cities like Los Angeles and Miami have posted year to year ratings drops for a little more than a year. The stations have been hampered by NBC's primetime programming woes - the network finished last season in fourth place.
Ireland's promotion marks a return to GE management for Ireland. Before joining NBC, he was CFO of GE Plastics since 1997. After three years as a U.S. Army Officer, he started his career with GE in 1980 in the company's financial management program. Currently a officer, he has been in his current role since December, 2006 overseeing all of NBC U's TV stations, the Telemundo network and its 16 Spanish language stations, domestic first-run syndication, affiliate relations and network operations.
Ireland will now lead GE's global investment first, which according to the company manages some $200 billion, and become a member of GE chief Jeff Immelt's Corporate Executive Council and GE Capital's board of directors.
Zucker said in the internal memo that he expected to name a "leadership transition" over the next couple of weeks.
"While we're excited for Jay, we're also sorry to see him go," Zucker said in the memo. "Jay has been one of the best Stations executives in NBC's history, with a long list of notable achievements to his credit. -- leading the way with our groundbreaking hubbing initiative, playing a key role in our Telemundo acquisition, driving our growth in new businesses like WeatherPlus, setting the stage for our continued transition to digital and developing one of the strongest operating teams in the industry."
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