Former Comcast engineering exec Shane Portfolio heads to Charter

News Analysis Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading 11/29/2022

Shane Portfolio, a long-time Comcast engineering exec, has joined Charter Communications in a role in which he'll oversee architecture and engineering for Charter's core access network.

Portfolio, who previously spent 26 years at Comcast, is taking on the role of SVP, network engineering and technology at Charter, reporting to Justin Colwell, who was upped to EVP, connectivity technology in May 2022.

Former Comcast exec Shane Portfolio joins Charter as the operator starts to solidify its plans for the access network.
(Source: Charter Communications)

Portfolio, named to the 2020 class of Cable TV Pioneers, most recently served as SVP of field operations engineering at Comcast. Other recent roles at Comcast included regional SVP of technical operations and engineering for Comcast's West Division, and regional VP of engineering for Comcast's California region.

Portfolio is coming aboard as Charter starts to solidify its plans for the access network. As Light Reading reported last month, Charter is pursuing a distributed access architecture (DAA) that pairs remote PHY with a virtual cable modem termination system (vCMTS). At the recent SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in Philadelphia, Charter also showed its latest demo of a DOCSIS 4.0 network that utilized the Extended Spectrum DOCSIS version of the platform. By contrast, Comcast, Portfolio's former employer, is working on a D4.0 network that uses the Full Duplex DOCSIS option.

Charter, which is also pushing ahead with "high-split" upgrades that dedicate additional capacity to the upstream, has yet to formally outline its network evolution plans. However, the company has noted that it intends to provide an update to investors on its strategies in areas such as the access network and service convergence sometime after current COO Chris Winfrey succeeds Tom Rutledge as Charter CEO effective December 1, 2022.

Charter promotes two

Among other moves within Charter's product and technology organization, Gary Koerper has been upped to SVP, emerging technology; and Mike Baldino has been promoted to SVP, data platforms.

Charter said Koerper, who also reports to Colwell, will focus on researching and assessing next generation technologies aimed at accelerating and supporting Charter's priorities. Koerper has been serving as group VP, Wi-Fi and connected home since joining Charter in 2018. Prior to that, he was SVP of video product development at Comcast and was CTO of Motorola Mobility.

Koerper previously served as Charter's group VP, Wi-Fi and connected home.
(Source: Charter Communications)

Baldino will lead a team tasked with creating and operationalizing access to data sets within the company's product and technology organization. Baldino will continue to report to Jodi Robinson, Charter's EVP, digital platforms, and continue to oversee his software and development and data duties within Charter's Digital Platforms Group. Formerly with Accenture, Baldino joined Charter in 2016 as VP, product intelligence.

In addition to his new duties, Baldino will continue to oversee his software and development and data roles within Charter's Digital Platforms Group.
(Source: Charter Communications)

Portfolio, Koerper and Baldino will all be based in the Denver area.

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading