Comcast said Wednesday that it has named Dana Strong CEO of Sky Group, replacing Jeremy Darroch who will step down from that role to become executive chairman of the British satellite unit. Strong, currently president of Comcast Cable’s Consumer Services, will report directly to Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts.

Darroch has been CEO of Sky since 2007, and continued in that role when Comcast purchased the company in 2018 for $31 billion. He has had a long career at the British satellite giant, joining the company in 2004 as chief financial officer in 2004. 

During that time, he has tripled the size of the business and led the transformation of the company into Europe’s largest multi-platform TV provider with nearly 24 million customers. 

Strong has been a rising star at Comcast since joining the company in 2018 as president of Consumer Services.  In that role she was responsible for  Comcast’s residential business and has led new product and market launches in broadband, video, home security, and mobile. During her tenure, the company achieved record subscriber and broadband growth and the company’s highest levels of customer satisfaction.

“There are few businesses that have the track record of Sky, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the company,” Strong said in a press release. “I’ve always admired Sky’s innovation, brand, and exceptional focus on the customer. I look forward to working with this incredible team to continue to grow the business and shape the next chapter for Sky.”

No replacement for Strong's Consumer Services position has been named, but Comcast said her leadership team will report to Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson during the search. 

Strong has more than 25 years experience in international markets, having served as president and chief operating officer of Virgin Media in the UK, chief transformation officer of Liberty Global as well as CEO of UPC Ireland and COO of AUSTAR in Australia.

“I would like to thank Jeremy for his exceptional leadership of Sky and his partnership since we acquired the company,” Roberts said in a press release. “Sky’s values have been a perfect fit for ours and I credit Jeremy with building an incredible culture and executing the seamless integration with Comcast. He and his team have established a world-class brand and a strong, well-run business that will continue to flourish. Jeremy has been a terrific colleague to me and everyone at Sky, but I respect his decision and I am pleased that he’s agreed to stay on to help with the transition and advise the company.”

“I am delighted that Dana will be taking the helm at Sky,” Roberts continued. “She is an accomplished executive with an extraordinary ability to transform, inspire and drive positive change. She quickly made her mark on our US business, driving growth and innovation with an unwavering commitment to our customers. Her global experience and vision coupled with her leadership and track record at some of the largest media and telecommunications companies in the world make her the perfect leader for Sky.”

In the press release, Darroch said that his decision to step down from the CEO spot wasn’t easy, but he believes the timing is right. 

“I feel incredibly lucky to have been surrounded by colleagues who care as deeply as I do about this business and our customers and work tirelessly every day to make their lives better,” Darroch said in the release. “I would like to thank all of my colleagues at Sky and also Brian and the team at Comcast who I have thoroughly enjoyed working with. I have no doubt that Dana will take Sky into a new and exciting future.”

Strong is in charge of Comcast Cable’s main profit center and the backbone for which its content services flow — Xfinity video, mobile and broadband. So far, Strong, who joined Comcast in 2018 after nearly two decades with Liberty Global where she held senior executive leadership roles, has risen to the challenge. Comcast reported the strongest quarterly broadband subscriber growth in its history, 633,000, in the third quarter, and signs all point to that momentum continuing. 

Strong has been a big proponent of Comcast’s Internet Essentials program to bring low-cost  broadband to low-income households. Since 2011, Internet Essentials has connected more than 8 million people with high-speed service. 

“With learning looking very different this year across the country, we want to help give our educators the connectivity they need to support America’s youth during these unprecedented times,” Strong said in a statement. 

Adding to broadband’s allure is Xfinity Flex, which gives broadband-only customers access to streaming services like Peacock, Hulu, CBS All Access, Netflix and Amazon Prime. Flex crossed 1 million devices deployed in May and has been a big part of overall broadband growth.  

“Flex was designed to fit seamlessly into the lives of our internet-only customers,” she said in another statement. “We are thrilled our customers are quickly embracing this device on such a large scale.”

While broadband appears to have a lot of growth runway left, the mobile business also presents opportunity. Comcast launched Xfinity mobile in April 2017, and currently has about 2.6 million customers. In Q3, Comcast added about 187,000 Xfinity Mobile customers, but the company increasingly sees the service as a gateway to its other products. 

During its Q3 earnings call, Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson said Comcast wireless growth has been “material” for several quarters, despite closing down retail stores because of the pandemic. With those stores now reopened, and by bundling wireless with all of its products, not just broadband, Watson sees accelerated growth ahead.

“We’re already seeing, as we put our shoulder to bringing things back, some real early-stage success in terms of what mobile can do,” Watson said on the call.

Former Virgin Media exec Dana Strong has been named president, consumer services, at Comcast Cable, where she will head up the go-to-market strategy for Comcast’s residential services.

In that role, Strong will oversee Comcast’s Xfinity brand and products, including video, broadband, voice, home and mobile products, as well as consumer sales and marketing, digital, Xfinity.com and the company’s data intelligence groups that support the strategy and growth of Comcast’s consumer business. Leaders in those respective business units will remain in their positions and report to Strong, Comcast said.  

For example, Matt Strauss, EVP of Xfinity Services at Comcast Cable; and Greg Butz, who heads up Xfinity Mobile, will remain in their roles, reporting to Strong.

Strong, who will report to Dave Watson, president and CEO of Comcast Cable, comes on board as Comcast’s pay TV business continues to face pressure from new OTT entrants, as the company looks to scale up Xfinity Mobile, a service that launched last May and ended 2017 with more than 380,000 customer lines, and as the company seeks growth opportunities in other areas, including home security and automation.

RELATED: Xfinity Mobile Starting to See ‘Real Momentum’

Strong most recently was president and COO of Virgin Media, the U.K.-based MSO that Liberty Global acquired in 2013.  She also served as SVP and chief transformation officer of Liberty Global, and was CEO of UPC Ireland (now Virgin Media Ireland) and as COO of Austar United Communications in Australia. 

Strong and her family are relocating from London and she will officially begin at Comcast in the first quarter of 2018, Comcast said. 

“Dana has an impressive career and great track record driving growth, digital transformation and improving the customer experience for some of the fastest growing companies in the industry,” Watson said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to welcome her to Comcast and can’t imagine a better leader to partner with me and our talented team as we continue to create the most innovative products available on the market, while driving growth and transforming the customer experience.” 

“I am delighted to join Comcast at such an exciting time for the company and our industry,” Strong added.  Comcast has built an extraordinary portfolio of products and it’s a privilege to join the team and lead this incredible business.”