Rogers Communications yesterday announced that President & CEO GUY LAURENCE has "stepped down" and will "eventually be replaced" by former Telus CEO JOE NATALE, according to Pete Evans of the CBC. Natale "can't come on board just yet, as he is still bound by the terms of the non-compete clause he signed with Telus." Rogers BOD Chair ALAN HORN will "act as interim CEO" until Natale can start. Laurence's departure comes as a "surprise to the investment community, since he had only been on the job for about three years." Rogers is "entering the third year" of its 12-year, C$5.2B NHL broadcast rights deal, an "expensive pact that has thus far yet to bear much fruit" (CBC.ca, 10/17). The CP's David Paddon noted Rogers under Laurence's stewardship finalized its rights deal with the NHL and "underwent a number of management changes that were intended to make the company more nimble" (CP, 10/17). The GLOBE & MAIL's Dobby & Bradshaw note Rogers has "struggled to show it was making good return" on its NHL deal -- which was signed after Laurence was named CEO, but before he officially started the job -- and "make other media ventures pay off" (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/18).
FAMILY AFFAIR: The FINANCIAL POST's Emily Jackson writes Laurence was a "bold, unconventional leader when the cable giant hired him ... but his brash style apparently proved to be too much for both the board and its controlling shareholder," the ROGERS family. Analysts "didn’t expect the abrupt departure." But sources said that Laurence’s relationships with both the BOD and family have been "deteriorating for months, with middling financial results failing to make up for the lack of chemistry or bridge a gap in priorities." Other sources said that Laurence "shook things up a bit too much for the traditional company" (FINANCIAL POST, 10/18). The GLOBE & MAIL's Derek DeCloet writes Laurence's departure is "proof that you can't violate the two immutable rules" of Rogers. DeCloet: "One, don’t cross the Rogers family. Two, you must produce results. Mr. Laurence did too much of the former and not enough of the latter, and that is why he’s gone" (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/18).
