MONTREAL – George Cope was officially made president and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada and appointed to the boards of both organizations, the company announced today.
Cope will be the first CEO under the company’s new owners, an investor group led by Teachers’ Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Providence Equity Partners Inc., Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity. The transaction will close on or before December 11, 2008.
The new CEO joined Bell in 2005 as president and COO, after quitting as president and CEO of Telus Mobility, a position he assumed following Telus’ acquisition of national wireless provider Clearnet Communications in 2000. Cope launched and built Clearnet from the ground up during his 13 years as president and CEO. He began his telecom career with Bell Cellular Distribution Services Inc.
"I am very excited about the opportunities ahead for Bell’s customers and our national team," said Cope in the company’s official statement. "Bell’s goal is clear: to be recognized by customers as Canada’s leading communications company. I look forward to leading a unified, re-energized organization focused on attaining that goal by delivering a better customer experience at every level."
The company also today announced a streamlined organizational structure and a new executive team made up of an experienced group of senior Bell leaders. “The team has developed a strategic operating plan that will quickly re-focus the organization on improving the customer experience, while rolling out competitive new service, network and marketing initiatives,” reads the release.
The streamlined structure reduces the total number of BCE and Bell executives by a third from 17 to 12 (some observers expect a similar sized cut among Bell middle management, too).
"Our executive team offers the experience and stability of a strong set of current Bell executives, several internal promotions and the return of a respected industry veteran," said Mr. Cope. "Every member of the team is passionate and enthusiastic about the opportunities ahead for Bell, and our ability to achieve our goal."
The new team is:
* Trevor Anderson, executive vice-president – network: Serving with Bell since 1971 and in a wide range of technology and network leadership roles across multiple Bell businesses, Trevor was previously senior vice-president – technology for Bell Canada.
* Stéphane Boisvert, president – enterprise: In 2006, Stéphane was appointed president of Bell Canada’s enterprise business, which serves large Canadian companies and public sector customers. He previously spent 20 years at IBM and Sun Microsystems, and served as chairman of Sun Microsystems Canada.
* Charles Brown, president – small and medium business and Bell West: Charles joined Bell in 2006 as president of Bell Western Region. A manager at BCE Mobile and Bell Mobility early in his career, Charles has held senior executive positions with communications companies such as Clearnet Communications and Trillium Communications.
* Michael Cole, executive vice-president and chief Information officer: Starting his career with Bell Canada in 1991, Michael has served in several Bell groups including network and customer operations, and business planning and information systems. He was most recently senior vice-president, Bell Canada operations.
* Kevin Crull, president – residential services: Kevin was appointed president – residential services in 2005, responsible for wireline voice, Internet access and portal services and the Bell video group. Kevin has more than 20 years experience leading sales, marketing, and operational teams, including nine years in major consumer telecommunications businesses.
* Wade Oosterman, president – Bell Mobility and Channels, and chief brand officer: Wade was appointed president of Bell Mobility and BDI as well as CBO in 2006. A telecom veteran of more than 20 years, Wade began his career as an executive with Bell Cellular Distribution Services Inc. He later served as executive vice-president of sales and marketing at Clearnet Communications and as EVP, sales and marketing for Telus Mobility and chief marketing officer for Telus Corporation.
* John Sweeney, president – wholesale: John joined Bell in 2006 as senior vice-president – carrier services group, the wholesale division of Bell Canada. John has worked in telecom since 1973, including as VP and general manager of Motorola Canada, division general manager for Motorola’s global iDEN business, and president of Kaval Wireless Solutions.
* Mary Ann Turcke, executive vice-president – field services: Mary Ann joined Bell in 2005, and most recently served as vice-president, customer experience and operations – SMB. She previously worked with A.T. Kearney Management Consultants and as vice-president of operations and general manager of Internet Pictures Corporation.
* Martine Turcotte, executive vice-president and chief legal and regulatory officer: Martine joined BCE in 1988 as legal counsel and has served with BCE companies including Bell Canada International, BCE Media and Bell Canada. She was appointed chief legal officer of BCE in 1999.
* Siim Vanaselja, executive vice-president and chief financial officer: Siim joined BCE in 1994 and has held a variety of senior positions in the company, including EVP and chief financial officer of Bell Canada International. He was appointed chief financial officer of BCE in 2001, and has served as CFO for BCE and Bell Canada.
* David Wells, executive vice-president – corporate services: Wells returns to Bell, where he spent the first 25 years of his career. He joined Bell Cellular in 1985, and later worked as CFO, CIO and EVP, human resources at Bell Mobility and as president and CEO of Mobility Canada. He served as EVP of corporate services at Clearnet and later served in the same role at Telus Mobility.
The departing executives are former CEO Michael Sabia, chief corporate officer Lawson Hunter (to Stikeman Elliot), and operations president Patrick Pichette (to Google), whose departures were previously announced. Also departing are Scott Thomson, EVP corporate development and planning, who went to Talisman Energy and BCE’s human resources chief Leo Houle.
The company also announced today that the Commissioner of Competition has extended, under the Competition Act (Canada), the period during which the privatization transaction may be completed under the original merger notification filing.
As closing of the privatization transaction will occur on or before December 11, 2008, the Toronto Stock Exchange has extended to January 30, 2009 time for the holding of the company’s annual meeting of shareholders. While the company does not expect that an annual meeting will be necessary, to comply with legal requirements relating to public notice of the annual meeting date and venue, the board of directors has set January 30, 2009, in Montreal, as the date and location of its annual meeting, if required.
