BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Chief Executive Officer Steve Burch has resigned and Chief Operating Officer Neil Berkett will take on the role of Acting CEO until a replacement can be found, according to Virgin Media Inc.on Tuesday.

    The company said 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 guided Virgin through its combinations with former cable operators NTL Inc. 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.

    But it has struggled because of strong competition from British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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."

    (Agencies)