Smithard to be promoted
MONTREAL- Cogeco Communications announced Friday Louise St-Pierre (right) has decided to retire as president and CEO of Cogeco Connexion.
Effective September 1, 2016, Ken Smithard, vice-president, performance, organizational efficiency and information technology, will become president of Cogeco Connexion. St-Pierre will remain in an advisory role until November 30, 2016, to ensure a smooth leadership transition, says the press release.
Since joining Cogeco in 1999 as vice president and chief information officer, St-Pierre has held subsequent roles of increasing responsibility within Cogeco Connexion's senior management team, eventually being named president and CEO in 2013.
"On behalf of the board of directors and Cogeco Connexion's more than 2,550 employees, I wish to thank Louise St-Pierre for her many years of dedication to Cogeco," said Louis Audet, president and CEO, of Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications, in the release. "Under her leadership, she set an exceptional customer-centric approach that has won Cogeco Connexion many prestigious customer service awards over the past several years. Louise achieved a great deal in her more than 17 years at Cogeco in an industry marked by rapid change and fierce competition, and we wish her the very best in her future endeavours."
Smithard (right) has also been with Cogeco since 1999, moving from director, consumer sales and marketing to senior director positions in residential sales, installation services, and service and warehouse, before moving to vice-president, performance and organizational efficiency in 2012.
In his current position, which he has held since 2014, in addition to leading Cogeco Connexion's strategic planning 
and processes, he is in charge of delivering many of the organization's largest transformational projects, says the release.
"With his extensive and broad experience, collaborative leadership style, and passion for technology, I am confident that Ken is well-placed to follow in Louise's footsteps, reinforcing Cogeco Connexion's position as a leading communications and technology company with strong customer relations built on amazing experiences, trust and reliability," added Audet.
