Mark Dzuban to step down as CEO of SCTE

Mark Dzuban is breaking some big news of his own heading into next week's Cable-Tec Expo in Denver. It'll be his last show at the helm of SCTE.

Dzuban, the president and CEO of SCTE since early 2009, announced in a column in the most recent edition of Broadband Library that he will be stepping down from that role and retiring. He joins several industry leaders in making that recent decision.

Mark Dzuban has been at the helm of SCTE since 2009. (Source: SCTE)

"As you no doubt know, Tom Rutledge moved away from his CEO role at Charter last November. Tom Adams retired from Charter last year. Tony Werner left his executive leadership role at Comcast. Matt Polka [former CEO of ACA Connects] and Jana Henthorn [former CEO of The Cable Center] retired from leading their industry associations. And there are many others. Now it's my turn," Dzuban wrote. "This will be my last SCTE Cable-Tec Expo serving as president and CEO of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)."

Dzuban, a member of the Cable TV Pioneers, is expected to remain as CEO through the end of the year and that his successor will be named by that time.

But Dzuban does intend to stay connected to the industry. He noted that he'd like to get more involved with the SCTE Foundation and will continue to be active with SCTE Energy 20/20, a program focused on energy management and sustainability.

Related:Mark Dzuban: A Decade at the Helm of SCTE

Dzuban's decision to step down comes about nearly three years after SCTE merged with CableLabs, with the Society becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of CableLabs.

Dzuban's decision to step down isn't a big surprise. But at one point, back in 2019, it was understood he had intended to lead the organization through the end of 2025.

And who knows if retirement will stick for Dzuban. He told Light Reading in 2019 that, prior to taking the job at SCTE, he had considered "retirement several times, and said it's not for me."

Back in 2008, it took a gentle nudge by then-CTO of Comcast Tony Werner to get Dzuban moving toward the helm of SCTE and playing a leading role in rebuilding the cable industry's standards-setting body and provider of tech training.

"I have another mission for you," said Werner, according to Dzuban's recollection. Dzuban, an engineering exec late of Bell Labs and VoIP tech pioneer Cedar Point Communications, worked with Werner at AT&T Broadband back in the day.

With Cable-Tec Expo celebrating its 40^th anniversary, it seems a fitting way for Dzuban to complete that mission.