Mike Cavanagh named Co-PDG of Comcast alongside Brian Roberts

In a major decision at the top of one of the largest entertainment companies in the world, Comcast appointed Mike Cavanagh Co-PDG, joining Brian Roberts at the top of the communication conglomerate for his family.

Cavanagh was recently president of the company and also managed Nbcuniversal, all the managers of the media company who reported to him. He joined Comcast as a financial director in 2015.

The elevation of Cavanagh will be in force on January 1, when he will also join the board of directors of Comcast. Roberts will remain president and CO-PDG.

“Since he joined Comcast a decade ago, Mike turned out to have been a trust and collaborative leader,” Roberts said in a statement. “He is the ideal person to help direct Comcast when we manage the pivot we do to stimulate growth through the company. Mike and I are working perfectly together, and I am delighted to associate with him as a CO-PDG and with the rest of our talented management team, for the years to come. ”

“Comcast is a special company with exceptional companies and an incredible team. It is an honor to work with Brian and the whole Leadership team from Comcast Nbcuniversal during this exciting and transformative period of our industry,” added Cavanagh.

The elevation of Cavanagh is unusual insofar as Comcast is a family business, founded by the father of Brian Roberts, Ralph Roberts over 60 years ago. Brian succeeded his father at the summit of the company in 1990. The son of Brian Roberts, Tucker Roberts, is also an employee of Comcast, in his Division Spectator, owner of the NHL team of the Philadelphia flyers and the Wells Fargo Center.

That said, it is not unusual that companies controlled managers to execute them day by day. Paramount and its predecessors, SUMNER REDSTONE and SHARI REDSTONE, counted on professional CEOs to manage companies, while the Murdoch family turns to Robert Thomson to manage News Corp.

And although the co-PDG structure is unusual, it is not unprecedented. Netflix, of course, had a CO-PDG since Ted Sarandos was raised to lead the company alongside Reed Hastings.