Kyle McSlarrow will immerse himself in the operational side of the cable operator business in his new post as regional vice president of Comcast’s Mountain Region, which includes overseeing operations in Utah and Arizona.

Prior to joining the operations team of Comcast’s West Division, McSlarrow led Comcast’s office in Washington, D.C., where he was instrumental in the company’s policy efforts. In addition to public policy, McSlarrow had some operational duties in Washington after he joined Comcast early last year as president of Comcast/NBC Universal.

Before joining Comcast, McSlarrow was president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) for six years. For his efforts on the regulatory front, McSlarrow was CED’s Man of the Year in 2007.

McSlarrow, who will be based in Salt Lake City, now reports to Steve White, president of Comcast Cable’s West Division.

“Kyle brings a diverse background of public policy, operational acumen, and deep experience in cable and programming, and I’m very pleased he will be joining my team,” White said. “His operations experience in D.C., and his multiple years at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, will be a great asset to us in the Mountain Region as we continue to develop and roll out innovative products and services to our customers.”

On the lobbyist front, Comcast has a pretty deep bench that includes former FCC commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, who reported to McSlarrow. Executive vice president David Cohen oversees the Washington efforts from the company’s corporate headquarters in Philadelphia.

“I’d like to thank Kyle for his work leading our public policy efforts in D.C., along with his many years of support at the NCTA,” Cohen said. “We’re delighted Kyle will now be turning all of his attention to our business operations, which has been a goal of his since he came to Comcast.”

Prior to the NCTA, McSlarrow served as the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy and held positions as vice president of political and government affairs for Grassroots.com, national chairman for the Quayle 2000 presidential campaign, chief of staff for U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell, and deputy chief of staff and chief counsel for Senate majority leaders Bob Dole and Trent Lott.

He also served as an associate with the law firm of Hunton & Williams and as a captain in the U.S. Army in the Secretary of the Army’s office as assistant to the General Counsel of the Army.

McSlarrow earned degrees from Cornell University and the University of Virginia School of Law.