Universal parent Comcast will elevate its president to co-CEO, starting in January.
Mike Cavanagh will join Brian Roberts in leading Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal and the Universal theme parks. Cavanagh joined Comcast 10 years ago and served as the company's Chief Financial Officer before taking over his current role as President.
"Comcast is a special company with exceptional businesses and an incredible team. It is an honor to work with Brian and the entire Comcast NBCUniversal leadership team during this exciting and transformative time in our industry," Cavanagh said.
"Since joining Comcast a decade ago, Mike has proven himself to be a trusted and collaborative leader," Roberts said. "He is the ideal person to help lead Comcast as we manage the pivot we are making to drive growth across the company. Mike and I work seamlessly together, and I am thrilled to be partnering with him as Co-CEO and with the rest of our talented management team, for years to come."
Mark Woodbury oversees the Universal theme parks as the Chairman and CEO of Universal Destinations & Experiences. He has reported to Cavanagh since 2023, when the company dismissed Jeff Shell as CEO of NBCUniversal, with Cavanagh taking on his direct reports. Universal Destinations & Experiences is part of the Content & Experiences segment at Comcast, with Connectivity & Platforms as the company's other segment.
Cavanagh also will join Roberts on the Comcast board of directors.
In other Universal personnel news, the President and COO Universal Parks and Resorts, Pacific Rim, Tom Mehrmann, has retired from the company. Mehrmann started in the theme park business with Knott's Berry Farm 50 years ago, with his career taking him to Six Flags, Warner Bros. Movie World in Madrid and Ocean Park in Hong Kong before joining Universal as President and GM for Universal Beijing.
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It seems fait to ask if Mr. Cavanagh's ascension is an affirmation of internal concern related to Comcast's ballooning debt load. As Comcast's CFO, Mr. Cavanagh was tasked with managing Comcast's massive $101 billion debt.
Simply Wall Street (Yahoo Finance - 03/11/25): "The latest balance sheet data shows that Comcast had liabilities of US$39.6b due within a year, and liabilities of US$140.4b falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had US$7.32b in cash and US$15.7b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$157.0b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.Given this deficit is actually higher than the company's massive market capitalization of US$142.1b, we think shareholders really should watch Comcast's debt levels, like a parent watching their child ride a bike for the first time. Hypothetically, extremely heavy dilution would be required if the company were forced to pay down its liabilities by raising capital at the current share price".
Considering the lackluster response to Comcast's foray into the struggling Las Vegas tourist market, the recent bad press surrounding the corporation's new Orlando park and the distinct (likely) possibility of adding more debt brought on by the development of new parks (Chicago, Texas and the United Kingdom), expansion of existing parks (USF IOA) and the pressing demand
to "fix" problems at destinations like USF, Comcast could be sailing into rough waters.