The new chain of command has to happen first. We have Angelakis’ reports, the new HR and the new Finance announcements. Now we need Croney’s. Who are his new directs? If we follow the pattern, this should be the next announcement. Everything else is premature. No doubt this will be the most significant restructuring in Comcast history, but we need Croney’s structure to understand how everything will newly align.
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@bh exactly. I wouldn’t call this terribly sophisticated. This is pretty standard cost-cutting/downsizing stuff. Consultants do this kind of work all the time. All the events since the split announcement seem like the result of intense pressure from the board or outsiders to shake things up and spur some kind of stock price recovery. The only reason it feels this disjointed is that the pressure came faster and harder than expected, and there was no concrete plan in place for an event of this magnitude - so now, everyone below board level is figuring it out in real time.
But in general, this is the same old playbook that dying conglomerates run all the time: cut costs, simplify structures, focus on a core money-making product set, and maximize profit/cash flow until M&A opportunity emerges. It’s a long, slow decline from here - longer and slower than a typical downsizing event, most likely, given the enormous size and cash flow of Comcast. It will take years to play out, but the path is pretty obviously one towards a smaller, leaner, highly profitable ISP/telco - one with valuable infrastructure and customer relationships that could eventually get scooped up by another telco/tech company with deep pockets and patience.
@a3 I'd push back on calling this sophisticated. A playbook is, by definition, generic. McKinsey's track record is not the gold standard people assume. They advised Enron, whose CEO Jeff Skilling came from McKinsey. They designed the expansion strategy that helped sink Swissair. They told AT&T in the 1980s that cell phones would be a niche product with under a million users by 2000. They have paid over a billion dollars in settlements for helping Purdue Pharma push opi--d sales. Bringing in a consultancy is not proof of strategic brilliance. Often it is a way to outsource accountability for decisions leadership already wanted to make. And if only the most senior people understand the plan, that is not a feature. That is the classic reason transformations fail the gap between the people who design the change and the people who have to execute it. Keeping everyone else in the dark does not make it impressive. It makes it fragile.
@a3 best take this forum has seen all year.
Make no mistake, the people that are informed are at the highest levels. SVPs, VPs are not sources. This is held at the highest levels of the Comcast hierarchy. Armstrong’s statements were unprompted. Look at the transcript. He offered the information on purpose. This is a sophisticated McKinsey type operation. The executive disconnect is real because only the very senior are aware. Whatever you think of Comcast, this is a planned operation using a tried and true playbook. Actually impressive as much as it is painful.
@a1 No. Herrin is gone. How does product and GTO align? The answer and next steps lie with Croney’s COO org.
I kind of agree, but didn’t he just reset his leadership team back in January?