VANCOUVER – Telus has promoted Doug French to Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer after John Gossling unexpectedly announced that he is leaving the company “to seek other opportunities”.
Gossling, who joined Telus 3 ½ years ago, will work with French for the rest of this month to ensure an effective transition of responsibilities, reads the company’s announcement on Monday. French (pictured) has been with Telus for 20 years, holding key roles as controller for its largest business and consumers units and more recently as corporate controller.
"Doug French has the breadth of experience necessary to help drive the continued success of Telus' proven strategy, and to play an integral role alongside our executive team in enhancing long-term shareholder value," said president and CEO Darren Entwistle, in the announcement. "Doug is a strong leader with an unwavering commitment to helping the Telus team pursue our multiple growth tenets while continuously realizing enhanced operational effectiveness and efficiencies."
"It is exciting to work for an organization like Telus, where all team members are extremely committed to our customers and our shareholders," added French. "I look forward to building on what we have achieved together and all that we will accomplish in the future. As a trusted advisor to the Telus leadership team and 20 years of national carrier experience, I am confident in my ability to support Telus ' continued success."
While noting that it appears as though the decision to leave was Gossling’s, Canaccord Genuity analyst Aravinda Galappatthige said that the move “may still cause some investor unease as this is the second major change in Telus management in recent months” (president and CEO Joe Natale stepped down in August 2015, after only assuming the role in May 2014, prompting then-chair and former long-time CEO Darren Entwistle to return as CEO.)
“In our view, this announcement does not appear related to any specific performance or strategic issues with Gossling and we believe French’s extensive experience with Telus positions him well for the role”, Galappatthige wrote in a client note.
Canaccord Genuity maintained its Hold rating on Telus stock and C$41.00 price target.
