Ousted NBC CEO Jeff Shell spotted for first time since layoff

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By Katherine Donlevy

April 25, 2023 | 11:20 p.m.

Ousted NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell was spotted walking his dog in his Beverly Hills neighborhood on Tuesday in his first public sighting since being pulled from the network.

Shell sported a white polo shirt and blue shorts – along with his wedding ring – as he strolled down the sidewalk with his pet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and an unidentified man near his Los Angeles home.

The former leader’s unidentified walking companion gave the camera a stern look as they passed.

On Sunday, Shell – who is married – was abruptly fired from NBCUniversal after admitting to engaging in an “inappropriate relationship” with CNBC anchor and senior international correspondent Hadley Gamble.

The couple reportedly started their relationship 11 years ago and continued it sporadically until it ended a few years ago.

The company investigated the matter after Gamble – who also had a romantic entanglement with a married buyout mogul in Texas – reported the boss for inappropriate conduct.

NBCUniversal owns CNBC, where Gamble has worked since 2010.

She was best known as one of the last Western reporters to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin before the invasion of Ukraine last year.

Russian state media accused her of acting “like a sex object” in an effort to distract Putin during an interview she conducted in Moscow.

Shell had been with the company for almost two decades and had been its chief executive since 2020.

“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal,” Shell said in a statement on Sunday. “I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret.”