CableLabs Hires New Prez/CEO

Author, speaker, innovation mentor and columnist Phil McKinney will take the helm as the next president and CEO of CableLabs. ? ?

"We’re thrilled to have a technologist of Phil’s caliber joining CableLabs,” notes Glenn Britt, chairman and CEO at Time Warner Cable, and chairman of the CableLabs Board of Directors. “For 24 years, CableLabs has helped the cable industry be at the forefront of communications innovation, and that role has never been more critical than it is today. Phil’s expertise in innovation and consumer technologies will ensure that CableLabs stays ahead of the technology curve and fuels cable’s continued growth with innovation.”?

Adds Comcast President and CEO Neil Smit, who also serves as vice chair of the CableLabs board, “As the pace of innovation continues to accelerate, we’re excited to have a leader like Phil who has broad experience that spans multiple industries and technologies and a vision that will continue to move our industry forward.”

McKinney is replacing Dr. Paul Liao, who has led the laboratory since June 2009. Last fall, Liao said he would not renew his contract, which was set to expire in December 2011.??

McKinney has held technology and innovation-leadership positions, including serving as vice president and CTO at Hewlett-Packard’s Personal Systems Group, where he was responsible for long-range strategic planning and research and development for all of the company’s PC product lines. He also was senior vice president/CIO at Teligent, and director at CSC.?

And McKinney is a busy guy. He recently published his first book, Beyond The Obvious, a practical guide to consistently generating innovation. McKinney also writes a column for Forbes called The Objective, he hosts the “Killer Innovations” podcast that CIO Insight has called “a must listen,” and he tweets from his @philmckinney handle.