TORONTO – Current Vodafone UK CEO Guy Laurence will succeed Nadir Mohamed atop Rogers Communications, the company announced Thursday morning, after a months-long process which saw many candidates interviewed.
Laurence, 51, brings 30 years of global experience in telecommunications, pay television and media to the role, including senior leadership positions at international media companies including MGM Studios, United Cinemas and Chrysalis Records. He will become Rogers president and CEO effective December 2nd.
After joining Vodafone in 2000, Laurence (pictured) was named CEO of Vodafone Netherlands (2005) and became CEO of Vodafone UK in 2008. In 2012 he led the acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide, a fixed line operator with roughly $2 billion in revenue. Vodafone UK currently has 19.2 million customers and an estimated $11 billion in revenue.
"The board unanimously chose Guy as the best leader to succeed Nadir and to take the company forward," said Rogers chairman of the board Alan Horn, in the announcement. "Guy is a strong, proven executive who has consistently delivered strong financial and operating results in highly complex and competitive markets. The breadth and depth of his experience in telecommunications, pay television and media are perfectly suited to Rogers and to the challenges and opportunities we see ahead."
Mohamed, who announced his departure last February, will retire when Laurence becomes CEO. He and Laurence are pledging to work together with the executive team to ensure "a smooth and seamless transition."
Rogers’ announcement describes Laurence as a natural entrepreneur with strong commercial instincts, a passion for innovation, the customer experience and leading high performing teams. “We found ourselves the best candidate for the job, somebody with the depth and breadth of experience who we think is going to be fantastic," said Rogers board member John Tory, in an interview with Cartt.ca. While many assumed the CEO of Rogers had to be a Canadian, there are no restrictions on nationality for the company`s CEO. The regulated cable and broadcast divisional leaders, however, have to be Canadian.
Laurence is no stranger to changing countries either, having led Vodafone`s Dutch unit for a number of years – and he has a strong background in media as well. “He certainly had been engaged in a highly competitive marketplace in his most recent job in the U.K.," added Tory. “He has had the experience of going to a different country and figuring out with great success how everything worked there."
Tory added that Laurence has been given no specific directions for change by the board of directors. "The mandate for change presents itself because the world around our company is changing every hour of every day," thanks to existing and new competitors, new technology, emerging media and other new products. "The challenge is to build on the rock solid foundation being left by Nadir," said Tory.
"Rogers is an iconic and well respected company in a great country and I'm looking forward to joining," Laurence said in the statement. "Its unique mix of wireless, cable and media assets offer a brilliant platform to provide innovative service to Canadians. I intend to build on the strong foundation established under Nadir's leadership to compete and win in the market."
Reacting to the news, Canaccord Genuity manager director Dvai Ghose said in a note to clients that Laurence was a good choice and that his appointment “could prove to be positive for shareholders over time”.
“Laurence clearly has extensive wireless experience in some of the most competitive markets in the world and has obviously dealt with regulatory challenges in the EU, which could be very useful in his new role”, reads the note. “We also view the appointment of an experienced new CEO ahead of the January 14, 2014 700 MHz spectrum auction as a key positive and believe that he has the potential of making a real impact.”
Noting Rogers' high customer churn and recent losses in subscriber, revenue and EBITDA share to rivals Bell and Telus, Ghose suggested that Laurence “cut costs aggressively in the cable division as video revenues are expected to continue to decline and accelerate Rogers’ own IPTV overlays, even if this may increase near term cable capex”. He added that Laurence’s biggest challenge just may be “making peace with the Government in light of this summer’s Verizon wars which thankfully seem behind us”.
Laurence is scheduled to re-locate to Toronto in December, and his wife Zaneta and their daughters will join at a later date.
– Lesley Hunter
