MONTREAL – In a high-level executive move not often seen in the Canadian telecom industry, George Cope has jumped from president and CEO of Telus Mobility to president and COO of Bell Canada, it was announced Wednesday.
However, both companies were basically mum about the non-competition agreement Cope surely has with Telus Mobility and how it will affect his new job, which he’s scheduled to begin in January. Executives in such senior positions normally are bound by contracts which do not allow them to go to a direct competitor for a long period of time – much longer than the two-and-a-half months Cope has between now and when he starts at Bell.
Cope will report directly to Michael Sabia, president and CEO of Bell Canada Enterprises, the parent company, and will be responsible for Bell’s residential services which include the wireline, Internet and video businesses, as well as the company’s enterprise, small and medium business and wholesale units.
Reading the press release says that Cope won’t have anything to do with Bell Mobility, which will still fall under Mobility president Robert Odendaal’s stewardship.
However, with Bell Canada’s service bundling of wired with wireless and Internet to both businesses and consumers a large part of the company’s overall strategy, it’s unclear how Bell Mobility and Bell’s traditional wireline business can be kept separate under the new executive regime.
When asked for comment by cartt.ca, a Bell spokesperson had this to say: “As you would expect, a person in Mr. Cope’s position has past employment obligations. We are and we will respect those obligations.”
When asked how the organization would work with Cope’s Mobility limitations, the spokesperson added: “We will not disclose the arrangement. As COO of Bell Canada, George Cope will be expected to drive the day-to-day execution of Bell’s business strategy, with a particular focus on driving revenue growth and the speed of delivery of new products to the marketplace.”
Telus declined all comment on Cope’s non-competition agreement. Neither Bell nor Telus would say how long the agreement is for, however, the minimum for such senior executive agreements is usually at least two years.
Consultant Brian Sharwood, principal with The Seaboard Group, told cartt.ca that the move was a bit of a puzzler, because it takes Bell “away from the direction we think they should be going – which is to take down the silos,” between its wired and wireless groups. With Cope powerless to handle Mobility, “this just adds to the silos,” he added.
“It will make some of their meetings rather interesting,” said Sharwood.
News from Nortel today actually outlines the potential perils (and legal action) stemming from non-competition agreements.
While the loss of Cope will be a short-term sting for Telus (the company’s share price dipped 4.2% on Wednesday), his departure could actually benefit the company, believes Sharwood.
Cope was president and CEO of wireless startup Clearnet since 1987 and steered it through years of growth before its $6.6 billion sale to Telus in 2000. The wireless business was his baby and the Telus wireless (based in Toronto) and wired (based in Burnaby) sides sometimes didn’t play well together.
“The silos at Telus is one of (CEO) Darren Entwistle’s problems,” said Sharwood. “Telus was a two-headed beast and now that one of the heads has fallen off, (Entwistle) will get to control it.”
"I am grateful for George’s leadership and dedication to the Telus team and for his efforts in establishing Telus Mobility as one of the leading wireless carriers globally," said Entwistle in a statement. "George is a tremendous talent in the Canadian telecommunications industry and he will be missed by the excellent leadership team at Telus Corporation."
Cope, added BCE CEO Sabia, is “one of the leading telecom executives in North America. I am convinced his entrepreneurial style will make a major contribution to the changes under way at Bell Canada. He is a proven executive with an impressive track record that makes him ideally suited to lead our various customer-facing groups. George will focus on driving revenues, delivering new products to the marketplace and enhancing our customer service."
On the cost suppression side, Sabia also announced the appointment of Stephen Wetmore as group president corporate performance and national markets for Bell Canada. In this new broader capacity, Wetmore will have overall responsibility for improving Bell’s cost structure. Reporting to him in his new position will be Bell’s finance group and the supply management and procurement organization.
