MONTREAL – Bell Canada announced Wednesday that Robert Odendaal, president of Bell Mobility and BDI (Bell Canada’s sales and distribution business), has decided to leave the company after three years to pursue other interests.
Odendaal was shifted over to Mobility from Bell Video/ExpressVu only in September of 2005 to help lead the wireless unit out from under a lingering storm of bad publicity and operational difficulties which stemmed from a billing system overhaul gone bad in 2004.
After not even a year in the role though, his departure could be seen as a bit of a surprise, but it may be more of an indicator of how Bell Canada will be run going forward.
Bell’s COO George Cope is widely regarded as a wireless whiz. He founded Clearnet Communications and led Telus Mobility when the western telco bought Clearnet. Bell lured him away last October and his non-competition contract with Telus’ wireless division expires this October. With Bell looking to bundle its offerings together more cohesively – including its IPTV service which is supposed to launch later this year – and market the quad-play heavily to consumers, further executive level restructuring may be in the offing.
An announcement about the new leadership of Bell Mobility and BDI will be made by the end of July 2006, said the company.
"Robert has made an important contribution in two key areas of our business," said Michael Sabia, president and CEO of BCE of Odendaal. "After joining Bell, in a short period of time, he put ExpressVu on a new trajectory. And he has done the same thing with Bell Mobility and BDI. Both businesses are moving forward better and faster as a result of his leadership," added Sabia. "I would like to thank Robert for his singular contribution to Bell’s success and wish him the best in the future."
– Greg O’Brien
