Citing the potential for a conflict of interest, Charter executive Don Detampel has resigned from his position as an independent director on Zayo Group’s board of directors.
Earlier this month, Charter promoted Detampel to executive vice president of technology and president of commercial services. Detampel joined Zayo’s board in July 2010 only to be hired as Charter’s executive vice president and president of commercial services in October.
As a board member, Detampel was chairman of Zayo’s compensation committee, as well as a member of its audit committee. When Charter hired him, the directors of Zayo Group considered whether there was a conflict with Detampel’s Zayo responsibilities. The group decided it wanted Detampel to keep his position as a director on its board, but the question of conflict would be revisited over the subsequent six months as both Detampel and the Zayo directors gathered additional information.
After Detampel’s recent promotion, he took on more responsibilities within Charter. Due to a combination of constraints on Detampel’s availability and potential business conflicts, Detampel and the Zayo directors agreed it would be best if he resigned from the board.
“Don’s vast experience in the telecom and Internet industry was very valuable to Zayo’s board and management team,” said Zayo President and CEO Dan Caruso. “As a director, he will be genuinely missed. As a friend and business colleague, I look forward to continuing to benefit from Don’s wisdom and know-how.”
Detampel’s resignation was effective Thursday.
“I enjoyed being part of Zayo Group, and I am confident that the company will continue to do well for its stakeholders,” Detampel said. “Though business conflicts prevent me from continuing in my role of Zayo Group director, I look forward to seeing the ongoing development of the Charter and Zayo commercial relationship.”
The same day Detampel was promoted, Charter announced that executive vice president and CTO Marwan Fawaz had resigned from the company. Fawaz’s last day at Charter was Friday. Charter brought in former Cox Communications CTO Chris Bowick to serve as its interim CTO.
Privately held Zayo is a provider of fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure and network-neutral colocation and interconnection services. Caruso previously worked for Level 3 before co-founding Louisville, Colo.-based Zayo.