Ex-NBCUniversal boss Jeff Shell will NOT get $43 million in stock awards

The former NBCUniversal boss will not receive a $43 million share price after being fired for an inappropriate relationship with a CNBC anchor.

Jeff Shell, 57, is missing out on the huge sum due to his years-long affair with Hadley Gamble, 41, who accused him of sexual harassment.

Tech giant Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, said the reward was “forfeited and canceled” because of the scandal.

Shell left his role at the company after an investigation into his conduct was launched about a month ago.

NBCUniversal didn’t say who filed the complaint, but reports suggested it was Gamble after their on-again, off-again relationship ended a few years ago.

Comcast announced in a filing Friday, “Upon its termination, all unvested PSUs and RSUs and all vested and unvested stock options, which had an estimated fair value of $43.3 million at the termination date, were forfeited and cancelled. “

Gamble accused Shell of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in a complaint that led to his resignation as CEO of NBCUniversal, her lawyer said earlier.

Shell left his role at the company after an investigation into his behavior was launched, it emerged earlier this month.

NBCUniversal didn’t say who filed the complaint, but media reports suggested it was filed by Gamble after an on-again, off-again relationship between the couple ended a few years ago.

Gamble’s lawyers subsequently confirmed this in a statement. “The investigation into Mr. Shell stemmed from a complaint from my client about sexual harassment and gender discrimination,” said Suzanne McKie, managing partner of Farore Law, a UK firm.

“Given these circumstances, it is very disappointing that my client’s name has been released and her privacy has been violated.”

Shell, who is married to Laura Fay Shell, has admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship” with an employee, which he says he “deeply regrets”.[s]’.

The details of his affair with Gamble, 41, are not publicly known.

The CNBC anchor moved to the channel’s Middle East coverage in 2018 after it began broadcasting Capital Connection from its new studio in Abu Dhabi.

She previously worked for ABC News and Fox News in Washington, DC and also hosted CNBC’s Access show about the Middle East and Africa.

Harvard- and Berkeley-educated Shell, 57, from Michigan, has been with Comcast for more than 20 years and joined the company from Fox.

He led international operations from London from 2011 to 2013 before becoming president of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment.

He took over as CEO in January 2020 and was responsible for overseeing a vast portfolio spanning from news and entertainment TV networks to the movie studio, theme parks and other divisions.

As CEO of NBCUniversal, Shell was also tasked with moving the company more strongly into streaming.

According to Variety, he and his wife hosted a $10 million fundraising event at their Beverly Hills mansion for Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign.

Shell is the second senior executive forced to leave NBCUniversal in recent years.

In April 2020, NBCUniversal said it had parted ways with Vice President, Ron Meyer, after he failed to properly disclose his settlement payment to a woman he had a consensual affair with several years earlier.

Shell said at the time that Meyer “acted in a manner that we believe is inconsistent with our company policies or values.”

At the time of her relationship with Shell, Gamble was also dating David Bonderman, the 80-year-old TPG chairman and billionaire co-owner of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.

Their relationship came to light in a whistleblower complaint against Bonderman at TPG in 2015, which listed Gamble as a “female companion” who was often on the company’s private jet.

“TPG founder David Bonderman is well known within the company for having steady female companions whom he distributes as gifts or otherwise benefits to whom he provides,” former TPG exec Adam Levine said in a complaint filed March 2. 2015 was filed with the SEC. according to the New York Post.

‘Mrs. Gamble, in particular, is known for regularly flying with him on TPG’s planes,” Levine said, adding that he believed Bonderman paid most, if not all, of Gamble’s and his other girlfriends’ living expenses.

Gambling was never the subject of Levine’s complaint, which accused TPG of violating securities laws. The company settled for $13 million in 2017 without admitting any wrongdoing.

The CNBC anchor’s attorney told the Post that “who a woman has or has not dated in the past is relevant to her sexual harassment and discrimination claims.”