I love how he didn't even get to write his own notice, and they made it clear he's out before the year ends. I can't wait to see more of our useless c-suite get canned.
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@a3 Does it even matter , SCAPE is a useless sh-t of nonsense , it will be gone in three months and replaced with something else. Another useless edict from management to have Comcast flavored AI, just like they have Comcast flavored AWS, we cannot respect the purity of anything , we are mere tenants and third rate users and we think we know better than the folks who created the Software. Unnecessary busy work for people who actually want to use AI to move things forward. I don't know one piece of software technology that we have used as designed and intended, we only light touch the surface because the argument is we don't want to be too dependent on the vendor, heck use the licenses that you have paid for (very rare) , most of what we use is freeware because we are such cheapskates .
@p6 And if you’re a product of KR’s leadership, (under Mike) you’re actually illustrating the bigger problem. Outdated thinking gets passed down from one generation of leadership to the next. Leaders promote people who think and operate just like them, and those people repeat the cycle. Eventually, you have an entire leadership hierarchy built in the image of its predecessors, with the same blind spots and the same inability to adapt. That’s how organizations become stagnant. The problem isn’t that our leaders can’t code. It’s that too many of them haven’t evolved their understanding of what leadership actually requires.
@p6 This is part of the outdated thinking that got us here. We don’t need leaders who know how to code. We need leaders who know how to lead people. Who can build strong teams, recognize talent, inspire people, make difficult decisions, and hold themselves accountable for outcomes. Technical expertise matters, but that’s why you hire talented engineers. The problem isn’t that we have 350 directors who can’t code. It’s that we have too many leaders who can’t lead. And those are two very different problems.
I’ve worked there 20+ years and got to know Rick a little bit. I think he’s a smart person and reasonably technically savvy for someone in his tenure in level. I do question his choice in leadership personnel he’s promoted a significant number of people through nepotism and not actual technical ability . Technical ability aside a lot of of his leadership’s lack the people skills necessary to motivate, inspire and drive the outcomes the company needs. Combine those two lacks of significant skill sets, and you got a lot of senior leadership who has repeated the process and have middle level leadership that also lack both skills necessary. Thus you will have layoff over time because the center has grown too big and cost too much and provides too little value.
I remember being in a directors plus meeting of over 350 directors thinking to myself who the F are all these people. Why doesn’t anyone know how to code (this was years before AI coding tool) and how are all these people expected to be the leaders of our future engineers?
To do yourself a favor and pray to get caught and get a severance take some time off to reset skill up and find a new company that doesn’t have this severe of a problem.
@a4 Considering Comcast a technology company is like considering a hot dog is a sandwich
@OP yeah a quite incompetent bunch the c suite is. Where the solution to their failing company is fire more people bcs that’s going to fix something. I emplore anyone who has time to go sit in a Xfinity store for an hour and watch how many ppl come in and cut off their service. The customers hate their service, their customer service is subpar (not in store) but if you were to call. Especially for a company that is always talking about customer first. It’s all bs and the stock price says it all.
@b8 been hearing the same
@df
Noopur’s leaders, Raj and Asad, are both highly arrogant. They constantly bicker with each other while competing for attention in their pursuit of promotion.
@c9 No, she hasn’t done enough. The group of leaders reporting to her is equally difficult and arrogant, with very little meaningful progress to show for it. Accountability needs to extend beyond her to the leadership team beneath her as well.
@bj retirement and thats it no eta on announcement
@a3 has Nupoor done anything that actually makes our network or applications safer? Non stop diktats and useless checkbox security engineering which saddles SRE and platform engineers with endless busywork
@b8 what exactly have you heard
@ae from what ive heard you wont need to wait long for that announcement
Me next me next
And heaven forbid he had to answer a tough question. He is a p@$$y personified. Please, please tell me that the arrogant CIO is next to go.
@a3 Because Comms sends those communications out, the email was likely weeks in the work, and its BAU until the retirement announcements happen. That courtesy to the person retiring.
Rick had the tech-savvy of someone who calls his grandson for help with iphone settings
Agreed. Manchester is the worst.
@ae you may think Schreiber is verbally abusive to everyone, until you see him su-king up (and is never subtle about it).
@a3 because Nooper will likely carry SCAPE forward given it’s an AI agent governance system. I highly doubt the Platform will survive more than a few months. Adoption will be minimal, and reliability is already a concern coming out of the team that developed it. They are known to have unreliable tools.
Seem to have been a last “look what we accomplished”.
Here is the full note from Charlie:
Team,
Today, I'm reaching out to share that Rick Rioboli, EVP and Chief Technology Officer, has decided to retire after 21 years with Comcast.
Over the years, Rick has made a significant impact on Comcast's technology strategy, helping shape many of the platforms, products and capabilities that power our business today. He has always approached that work with the long-term interests of the company in mind, encouraging teams to build for what comes next, not just what we need in the moment.
This commitment has been at the heart of Rick's contributions to work across the company, from innovations like our entertainment metadata services to the evolution of our technology and platform architecture. More recently, he has been a strong advocate for Al, helping accelerate its adoption across Comcast and supporting the teams building the next generation of Al-powered experiences we'll deliver. He also helped strengthen collaboration among technology teams across Comcast, NBCUniversal and Sky through Tech Symphony.
Throughout his time at Comcast, Rick has been deeply committed to developing technology talent and fostering innovation. He has championed programs like Knowledgefest, Xplore, Grows to Code, Lab Week and Lighthouse, supported the development of master's degree programs in partnership with Drexel University, and worked to expand access to technology careers through Per Scholas, where he serves on the board.
Rick has received significant recognition throughout his career, having been honored as a Forbes CIO Top 50 Innovative Technology Leader, Philly CIO of the Year and Cable TV Pioneer, and as part of teams whose work received Technical Emmy Awards, including for the Voice Remote. But I know many of us will remember him most for the relationships he built, the leaders he developed and the example he set every day.
To help support a smooth transition, Rick will continue in his role until he retires later this year.
One can guess who his replacement will be. Be careful what you wish for. This company’s job postings and leaders will be run officially from overseas. It’s happening to all do them from top down.
@aj no replacement announced, but it was made clear that his last day is before the end of the year.
@ah That is rather sudden and timely. Is it effective immediately? Does he have a replacement?
@ad CTO announced “retirement” this morning. Hopefully more to come.
@ab ha! What an honor!
@ae OMG yes. How he got promoted beyond chief floor-sweeper is beyond me. Patronage gig if ever I’ve seen one.
Please take out Schreiber. He’s been incompetent and verbally abusive towards all of, basically everyone.
What happened?
Promoted to customer!
Perhaps this is an indication that they realize that their technology leaders have failed them.
Vote Elad off the island too!
I hope this means Crisafulli and Trotter are next.
a “technology company” without a Technology team leadership succession plan.
Not sure why Rick and Noopur together sent out the Scape AI notification mail yesterday, if he’s going to be sacked. What about Elad? Is he still continuing? Is it possible that 2 EVPs will be let go in this wave? There’s so much of bloat in Connect too, it should be streamlined
At Comcast, you don’t retire from Comcast, Comcast retired from you….