OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Rogers Communications said Tuesday that Joe Natale has left his role as President and chief executive officer of the company effective today. It has appointed Tony Staffieri as Interim President and chief executive officer.
'On behalf of the Rogers family, the Board and our 24,000 team members across the country, I thank Joe for his leadership and contributions to our company, including paving the way for our future together with Shaw,' said Edward Rogers, Chairman and son of the company's founder.
Staffieri has over thirty years of telecom, financial, media and sports experience, including over nine years as the Chief Financial Officer of Rogers. Prior to joining Rogers, Tony held senior positions at Bell Canada Enterprises, Celestica International and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Rogers Communications said that it has begun a search to identify a permanent chief executive officer, who will continue to drive its future growth including its integration with the Shaw team once the deal closes next year. Tony Staffieri will be a candidate for this role.
The company noted that the Shaw transaction continues to move forward as planned. On Monday, November 22, 2021 the Rogers and Shaw teams, including Edward Rogers, will attend the CRTC public hearing.
On 7th November, Rogers Communications said that it would not seek an appeal of British Columbia Supreme Court ruling that upheld reconstituted board of Edward Rogers.
The Court on 5th November affirmed Edward Rogers's authority to make changes to the board without holding a shareholder meeting.
Edward had used his authority as head of the family trust to replace several board members with his own hand-picked directors after he was ousted as chairman.
But, Edward Rogers was appointed as chairman of Rogers Communications at a meeting on 24th October, according to a statement by a group that had said it represented the 'reconstituted board' of the company.
Edward Rogers then said he planned to initiate proceedings in the British Columbia Supreme Court to confirm and implement the Shareholder Resolution.
However, Rogers Communications then said that the meeting was not valid, the board's membership hasn't changed at all and John MacDonald remains the chairman.
Rogers Communications's board voted out Edward Rogers on 21st October, after he tried to replace Chief Executive Officer Joe Natale with another executive. The company had appointed John MacDonald as chairman. MacDonald had been a member of the Rogers Board of Directors since 2012 and held the role of Lead Director and Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee.
Edward Rogers' mother and sisters, who are fellow board directors of the company, had said they support Joe Natale as CEO and support his management team. They remain as duly elected members of the Rogers Communications Board and represent the majority of the Board members of the company. No other group of individuals has any authority to purport to act as the Board of Directors of Rogers Communications Inc.
Edward had said his family has disagreements like every other family and he would resolve those differences privately.
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