Virgin Media said Tuesday that Chief Executive Officer Steve Burch has resigned.
Virgin said that it will begin a search for Burch's replacement shortly and Neil Berkett, the company's chief operating officer, will assume the role of Acting CEO in the interim.
The company said that Burch, who joined Virgin in January 2006, was returning to the United States for "family and personal reasons." He will also step down from Virgin Media's board.
Burch steered Virgin through its combinations with former cable operators NTL and Telewest and the mobile operator Virgin Mobile. The company was relaunched with great fanfare in February to create Britain's first "quadruple play" service, offering mobile phone, fixed-line phone, Internet broadband and TV services.
It has struggled, however, in the face of strong competition from British Sky Broadcasting Group and recently invested substantially in revamping its customer service after scores of complaints.
"Steve has contributed significantly to the transformation of Virgin Media," Chairman Jim Mooney said in a statement. "Since he joined us, the company has emerged as the U.K.'s only 'quad play' provider and a genuinely distinctive presence in the world of communications and entertainment."