Charter Communications tapped former Frontier Communications CEO Nick Jeffery as its new COO, a job Jeffery will begin September 1, taking on leadership of the communication service providers (CSPs) marketing, sales, field operations, and customer operations.

Charter is one of the market’s largest CSPs, having a significant 41-state footprint based on its Spectrum-branded cable- and fiber-based broadband, television, mobile, and voice services. These services count nearly 32 million total customers.

Jeffery had spent the past five years as CEO of Frontier Communications, which was recently acquired by Verizon for $20 billion. That stint included leading Frontier out of bankruptcy and toward its eventual acquisition and stepping aside as CEO as soon as that deal closed.

Jeffery also spent nearly eight years at Vodafone Group, including five years as CEO of Vodafone UK, and had a short stint as CEO of Cable & Wireless Worldwide prior to it being acquired by Vodafone.

“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,” said Chris Winfrey, president and CEO, in a statement. “He successfully reinvented the consumer and business services reputation of both Frontier and Vodafone by systematically strengthening the customer experience and implementing innovative go-to-market strategies that delivered significant revenue, profitability, and customer growth. His experience will be a real asset to our Company, and I welcome Nick to the team as we continue to position Spectrum as America’s most reliable and affordable connectivity provider.”

Challenges ahead

Jeffery, in a LinkedIn post, acknowledged the task ahead.

“This is a pivotal moment for the company, and I’m energized by the opportunity to help drive operational performance and further strengthen Spectrum’s customer relationships,” he wrote. “Together, we’ll keep raising the bar for amazing internet connectivity, incredible content, and a great customer experience.”

That task includes finalizing its acquisitions of Liberty Broadband and Cox Communications, which are expected to close by mid-year, and subsequent integration of those assets. Charter is also attempting to balance the slowing growth of its cable operations, which is being impacted by lower-cost fixed-wireless access (FWA) services from rivals like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile US.

Charter has seen more robust uptake of its mobile services, which to this point has run as a combination of a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) model running on Verizon’s cellular network, as well as different permutations of its own mobile networks that rely on a mix of licensed, quasi-licenses, and unlicensed (Wi-Fi) spectrum. Charter last year struck a deal with T-Mobile US to expand that MVNO service to the enterprise space.