NBCUniversal CEO stepping down after ‘workplace romance’ with CNBC anchor

NBCU announces that CEO, Shell is leaving after an investigation by outside counsel; Shell acknowledges that ‘I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman, Hadley Gamble, in the company, which I deeply regret.’ We have reached out to Gamble for comment; there has been no response yet.

Deadline has learned that Shell had a relationship with Gamble which started about 11 years ago and continued sporadically up until a couple of years ago when it ended. Shell was chairman of NBCUniversal International from 2011 to 2013 before becoming chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment and eventually NBCU CEO in 2020.

Multiple sources tell Deadline that the woman who filed the complaint against NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell for inappropriate conduct was CNBC anchor and Senior International Correspondent Hadley Gamble.

Gamble covers energy, geopolitics, and financial markets and anchors Capital Connection from CNBC’s Middle East headquarters based within Abu Dhabi Global Markets. She’s also presented the CNBC documentary franchise Access: Middle East, where she speaks to world leaders, international CEOs and philanthropists. Past guests have included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Gamble was the last Western journalist to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin in October 2021 before the war in Ukraine.

In his statement, Shell, who has been married for a long time, also said, “I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 10 years has been a privilege.”

Deadline has learned that there was communication between Shell and Gamble via company email which came to light in the investigation.

In their company memo about Shell’s exit, Roberts and Comcast President Mike Cavanagh indicated that the former NBCU CEO had violated company policy.

“You should count on your leaders to create a safe and respectful workplace,” they wrote. “When our principles and policies are violated, we will always move quickly to take the appropriate action, as we have done here.”