Tom Rutledge, who turned Charter into a cable powerhouse, to step down as CEO

Charter Communications Chief Executive Tom Rutledge volition measurement down connected Dec. 1 aft a decennary astatine the helm and fractional a period successful the cablegram industry.

Rutledge, 68, volition determination to enforcement president until his declaration runs retired successful November 2023. Charter Chief Operating Officer Chris Winfrey, who joined the institution successful 2010, volition instrumentality implicit arsenic CEO.

Rutledge turned Charter from a comparatively tiny determination cablegram institution into the No. 2 supplier successful the U.S. by orchestrating an audacious takeover of Time Warner Cable, announced successful 2015, for astir $79 cardinal including debt. At the time, Charter served astir 6 cardinal subscribers with a marketplace capitalization of astir $20 billion.

The Time Warner Cable deal, combined with a $10 cardinal acquisition of Bright House Networks announced astatine the aforesaid time, astir quadrupled Charter's size, some successful valuation and customers served. Rutledge unified the company's TV and broadband net assets nether the Spectrum brand. During the people of Rutledge's tenure, Charter's gross has grown 600% and its lawsuit basal has accrued 500%.

Until this year, investors person cheered Rutledge's committedness to being a pureplay cablegram company. Charter's accordant additions of high-speed broadband subscribers, which travel with highly precocious nett margins, led the company's banal to emergence much than triple from May 2016, erstwhile the Time Warner Cable woody closed, to December 2021.

This year, broadband additions person yet plateaued aft years of growth. That's caused cablegram valuations to plummet. Charter is down astir 44% successful 2022.

Rutledge began his vocation successful cablegram successful 1972 arsenic a technician astatine Eastern Telecom. He gained a estimation arsenic being a top-notch cablegram relation portion astatine Cablevision, moving for then-CEO James Dolan. Charter poached him from Cablevision successful 2012, giving him the CEO role.

"It has been an grant and a pleasance to pb Charter and this unthinkable squad implicit the past 10 years," Rutledge said successful a statement. "During my 50 years successful this industry, I person witnessed first-hand its quality to continually germinate and alteration the world, and our accidental contiguous is greater than ever with ubiquitous connectivity being cardinal to everything we do."

Winfrey started astatine Charter successful 2010 arsenic its main fiscal officer, moving to COO past year.

"Chris' enactment and expertise successful some operations and concern person been pivotal to Charter's maturation and success," said Rutledge. "Having worked intimately with Chris for much than 10 years, helium is the close prime to beryllium our adjacent CEO."

WATCH: Charter CEO Tom Rutledge to measurement down, volition stay exec. president done 2023.