Virgin Media boss Steve Burch has quit just 18 months into the job “for family and personal reasons”, it was announced yesterday.
Burch, who wanted to go home to the US, will also be stepping down from Virgin Media’s board.
A search for a replacement chief executive will begin shortly, according to the company.
Meanwhile, Virgin Media’s chief operating officer Neil Berkett will take up the role of acting CEO with responsibility for driving forward the company’s strategy and operational development.
Since joining Virgin Media in 2006, Burch has led the company through the merger and subsequent integration of NTL and Telewest, the acquisition of Virgin Mobile, and the successful re-branding of the its residential operations under the Virgin brand.
Commenting on the resignation, Virgin Media’s chairman Jim Mooney said: “Steve has contributed significantly to the transformation of Virgin Media. Since he joined us, the company has emerged as the UK’s only ‘quad play’ provider and a genuinely distinctive presence in the world of communications and entertainment.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
“On behalf of Virgin Media’s board of directors, I thank him for his contribution to our development, and wish him every success for the future.”
But The Times reported yesterday that Burch resigned after a series of “boardroom rows” with Mooney and Bill Huff, the key investor, which “left him with little choice but to leave the cable company after just 18 months”.
