- Former Frontier CEO Nick Jeffery will become Charter Communications' new COO on September 1
- Jeffery will join Charter around the time the cable operator expects to close its $34.5 billion merger with Cox
- Recon Analytics Principal Roger Entner said Charter is getting "a seasoned and experienced" executive
Charter has tapped former Frontier Communications CEO Nick Jeffery as its new chief operating officer, a move that comes shortly after Verizon closed its $20 billion acquisition of Frontier.
Jeffery, who served as Frontier CEO since 2021, will join Charter on September 1, 2026. He’ll lead the operator’s marketing and sales, field operations and customer operations across Charter’s 41-state footprint.
Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said in a statement, “Nick’s leadership, growth mindset and operational expertise combined with his proven ability to improve customer service across residential, mobile and B2B markets make him the ideal person to help accelerate Spectrum’s next phase of growth.”
Jeffery’s start date later in the year indicates Charter wants to have him on board when the company finalizes its $34.5 billion merger with Cox Communications. Announced in May 2025, the Charter/Cox deal is expected to close sometime in mid-2026, subject to regulatory approval.
“With Nick, Charter is getting a seasoned and experienced executive who led Frontier very successfully until the acquisition by Verizon,” Recon Analytics Principal Roger Entner told Fierce. “Nick is coming to Charter at a pivotal moment at the eve prior to the Cox merger.”
Jeffery had joined Frontier when the company was in the throes of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which resulted from copper customer churn and lacking fiber investment. With Jeffery at the helm, Frontier emerged from bankruptcy in April 2021 with plans to double down on fiber deployment.
And the company did just that. Prior to merging with Verizon on January 20, Frontier touted record fiber broadband customer growth, adding 133,000 subscribers year-over-year in Q3 2025 as well as 326,000 fiber passings to reach 8.8 million total fiber locations. With Frontier’s footprint, Verizon expanded its fiber reach to nearly 30 million passings.
It's interesting that Verizon didn’t tap Jeffery for an executive position, given the leadership restructuring the company underwent in the last few months.
First, Verizon ousted former CEO Hans Vestberg in October and hired Dan Schulman to take his place. Then Verizon Consumer Group CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath, long thought to be the heir apparent, announced he will depart the company at the end of Q1 2026.
Jeffery said in a statement he’s thrilled to be joining Charter “at such an exciting moment in its evolution.”
“Spectrum has winning assets with its fully deployed converged network, industry leading video strategy and meaningful investments in network and customer service operations that provide a foundation for further growth,” he said.