CableLabs named its next CEO, with current EVP and CTO Mark Bridges set to take the reins of the broadband standards body.

Bridges, who has been at CableLabs for more than a decade, will take over from longtime chief Phil McKinney, who will retire on January 1, 2027. CableLabs' executive leadership team will remain in place throughout the transition, while McKinney will continue to advise the board.

“McKinney transformed CableLabs from a North American research and development organization into a global innovation leader,” Chris Winfrey, chairman of the CableLabs board of directors and president and CEO of Charter Communications, noted. “Under his leadership, CableLabs expanded its membership, accelerated technology development, and strengthened its impact across the connectivity industry. The board is grateful for McKinney’s leadership and service, and we are confident Bridges is the right person to build on that foundation and lead CableLabs into its next chapter.”

Prior to joining CableLabs, Bridges served as CEO of Mental Foundry, an operations support systems/business support systems (OSS/BSS) architecture consulting firm. Bridges was previously a director at Avaya and held a prior CEO role at the application development and systems integration consulting firm VCS, which he also founded.

Bridges joined CableLabs in the early 2010s as an architect before going on to serve as director of software development and later VP of the brand’s Future Infrastructure Group.

In his role as CTO, Bridges drove the creation of the firm’s long-term vision across wired, wireless, and network convergence efforts, and is responsible for operations of its various technology teams.

Bridges takes over a stalwart who joined CableLabs around the same time. Formerly Hewlett-Packard’s CTO, McKinney led the organization through impressive membership growth, rising from 19 to 50 companies worldwide, while overseeing development of DOCSIS 3.1 and 4.0, among a host of other CableLabs efforts.

Commenting on his replacement, McKinney said: “Mark has been central to CableLabs' technology strategy for more than a decade, including helping lead our expansion into cloud-native architectures, network convergence, and AI. He knows this organization, he knows our members, and he knows what it takes to lead at this level. I am proud of what this team has accomplished and confident in where Mark will take it next.”

"I'm committed to accelerating the strong foundation Phil and our team built, and to pushing into what comes next,” Bridges added. “I look forward to working with our members, partners, employees, and the broader industry to pioneer the technologies that will define the future of connectivity.”