• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 15, 2011

In a surprising move, Cablevision said COO Tom Rutledge, one of the most respected cable industry executives, will resign from the post he’s held since 2004 later this month. During his tenure, Cablevision acquired the Bresnan cable system and spun off AMC Networks into a separate company in addition to launching a slew of technological initiatives from in-home iPad streaming to interactive advertising to a Wi-Fi network. Cablevision said it has initiated a search for his replacement and did not offer any information on whether Rutledge would be moving to another job. CEO James Dolan once said one of the smartest moves he made was hiring Rutledge.