Media

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell out after ‘inappropriate relationship’

FILE - Jeff Shell poses for a picture at the 2014 LA's Promise Gala, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, in Universal City, Calif. Shell, the chief executive of NBCUniversal, is departing the company after an investigation into inappropriate conduct, Comcast announced Sunday, April 23, 2023. (Photo by Rob Latour/Invision/AP, File)

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell is stepping down after admitting to an “inappropriate relationship” with someone in the company, Comcast announced on Sunday. 

“I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret,” Shell said in a statement. “I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 19 years has been a privilege.”

Telecommunications giant Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, said Shell and the company “mutually agreed” that he’d leave the post, effective immediately, after the company’s investigation “led by outside counsel into a complaint of inappropriate conduct,” reads the release. 

Shell had been NBCUniversal’s CEO since January 2020 after stepping up from his role as chairman of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment to replace Steve Burke. He had been with the company since 2004, according to the Associated Press.

Comcast did not announce who would succeed Shell.