Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen will once again become CEO of the company he co-founded after the U.S. satellite TV provider announced on Monday that incumbent Joseph Clayton will retire at the end of March.
Ergen served as chief executive of Dish from its incorporation until June 2011, when he handed the reins to Clayton so he could concentrate on long-term business development and acquisitions.
"Over the last four years, Joe’s leadership has been instrumental to Dish as we have worked to engineer a fundamental transformation of our business," said Ergen of Clayton, in a statement. "He has set the stage for what will become a new company, and with that he has prepared a new class of management to address the adventures coming our way."
Indeed, as CEO of Dish, Clayton has had to contend with the rise of online video streaming players like Netflix and Amazon, the mounting dominance of cable giant Comcast, and the efforts of telcos like AT&T and Verizon to grow their TV businesses.
Dish is betting its future on wireless, spending $13.3 billion before subsidies in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) recently-concluded AWS-3 auction.
"This team has done what it said it would – our operations are stronger, our leadership is deeper, our outlook is as positive as it ever has been," said Clayton, listing the launches of Dish’s Hopper digital video recorder (DVR), its dishNET satellite Internet service, and Sling TV, among the company’s achievements during his tenure.
"I am proud to have served with such a remarkable team," he said.
Clayton’s retirement will become effective on 31 March, at which point he will also step down from Dish’s board.
