by Thinus Ferreira
The married NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell has been fired and on Sunday exited the company with immediate effect under a cloud of scandal after a sexual harassment claim triggered an internal investigation which found that he had an inappropriate relationship with the CNBC Middle East anchor Hadley Gamble.
NBCUniversal's senior team will now be reporting to Comcast president Mike Cavanagh for the time being.
Hadley Gamble, a CNBC Middle East anchor and senior international correspondent, who has had a relationship with Jeff Shell for years, filed a complaint against him over inappropriate conduct.
Jeff Shell who became NBCUniversal CEO in January 2020, in a statement issued on Sunday, said "Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal. I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret".
"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 10 years has been a privilege".
In an emailed staff memo, Mike Cavanagh said that "We are disappointed to share this news with you. We built this company on a culture of integrity".
"Nothing is more important than how we treat each other. You should count on your leaders to create a safe and respectful workplace. When our principles and policies are violated, we will always move quickly to take the appropriate action, as we have done here."
