Canoe Ventures said that CEO Joel Hassell will retire at the end of January.

The tech company, owned by Charter Communications, Comcast and Cox, said David Porter, currently senior VP and general manager of addressable advertising at Canoe, will become interim general manager running the company effective December 12.

Hassell has been with Canoe since 2010, serving as CEO for 10 years.

"Joel was instrumental in guiding Canoe's growth and significant transformation during his tenure as CEO," said David Kline, executive VP at Charter and president of Spectrum Reach on behalf of Canoe's ownership group. "His industry knowledge and focused leadership over the past decade has helped define Canoe as a leader in the industry. We are grateful for his leadership and many contributions, and wish Joel the best of luck in his retirement."

Porter has been with the company since 2020. Before that he was with Warner Media, Microsoft and Cox.

"David is a seasoned executive with a proven track record of leadership, strategy and innovation and he has earned the respect of his colleagues, industry partners and Canoe's ownership group," said Gina Mingioni, senior VP of strategy and operations at Comcast Advertising. "We have confidence in his ability to lead Canoe through this transitionary period to ensure the company's uninterrupted growth and success."

Canoe enables addressable TV advertising across linear, VOD and streaming video platforms, providing dynamic ad insertion into video services. It has more than 100 TV networks as clients.

"It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as CEO of Canoe Ventures for the past 10 years, and to have been part of this company for more than 12 years," said Hassell. "I am proud of what we have accomplished over the years, helping to grow and scale addressable TV advertising. I have been in this industry for more than 30 years; I believe now is the right time to pass the torch to a new leader to take Canoe into the next phase of innovation. David is an experienced and valued leader, and I look forward to working closely with him over the next few months to ensure the business is positioned for long-term success." ■

David Porter will step down as executive director of The Walter Kaitz Foundation effective April 13, the diversity organization announced Friday.

Longtime Kaitz executive and deputy executive director Michelle Ray will serve as interim executive director upon Porter’s departure, according to Kaitz.

Porter joined Kaitz in August 2006 and during his tenure raised more than $20 million – mostly through the organization’s annual autumn fundraising dinner -- to fuel cable industry initiatives implemented by the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), and the Emma L. Bowen Foundation.

READ MORE: Diddy Uses Kaitz Moment For Diversity Message

Under Porter’s leadership, Kaitz has also pioneered bi-annual industry-wide surveys -- conducted jointly with WICT and NAMIC -- to identify and track diversity within the industry’s employment ranks. Here is a link to a story about the 2017 survey results.

"Under David's leadership, the Walter Kaitz Foundation has reached new and sustained levels of achievement, becoming the bedrock for efforts across our industry to enhance and embrace diversity as a core operating principle," said NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell in a statement. "David's leadership has brought out the best in us, in our efforts to shape our industry into a national leader on diversity and inclusion. His passion for, and commitment to, this work is unsurpassed. We will miss his vision and presence, and we wish him all the best in future endeavors."