Guy Laurence is out as chief executive officer of Rogers Communications Inc.
The British transplant to Canada is leaving the company immediately and will eventually be replaced by former Telus Corp. CEO Joe Natale, Rogers said Monday.
But Mr. Natale, who left his post at Telus in the summer of 2015, is not eligible for the role immediately due to a non-compete arrangement and Rogers is unsure of exactly when he will be able to start.
The move left many analysts wondering why the company made the change now, considering Rogers’ financial results have been steadily improving under the plans put in place by Mr. Laurence.
During an investor call Monday morning, Mr. Horn suggested the move was more about Mr. Natale being available – and Rogers taking the chance to lock him down now – as opposed to getting rid of Mr. Laurence.
“You should look at this as the opportunity to secure the services in due course of Joe Natale, and that’s a unique situation and that’s the one we moved on,” Mr. Horn said, responding to a question about whether Mr. Laurence’s term was cut short.
Not sure if this will have any bearing on the Blue Jays budget over the next couple of years, but a bit of a surprising move at the top of the Rogers pyramid.
