On the Call: Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen on staying as chief executive

On the Call: Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen

PHILADELPHIA — The chief executive of Dish Network Corp. relinquished his position as CEO of sister company EchoStar Corp. during the fourth quarter.

But Charlie Ergen said that’s not a sign he’s ready to step down from Dish, at least for now. In an earnings conference call with analysts, Ergen said he’ll consider stepping aside if the company finds an executive who can do a better job.

QUESTION: Are you starting to think about succession perhaps for Dish Network or both companies?

RESPONSE: I had two CEO roles, and I wasn’t very good at either one of them. … Now I get to find out if I am a good CEO with Dish or whether somebody else would be better.

I will give myself a little more time to do it, but as people here can attest to, I was a bit schizophrenic last year, so I am obviously … much, much more focused now on Dish.

Well, I will say this. I think that we have people on board here today that probably could take over. The question is can they do a better job than I can do, and as soon as they can do a better job, I hope I am, you know, unemotional enough to give them the keys.