Edward Rogers’ case to turf Natale doesn’t tell the whole story
BNN Bloomberg
“Room for improvement” is how Edward Rogers phrased it on Oct. 18, when he made his first public comment since he tried to oust Joe Natale, the chief executive officer of Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI), in late September.
“Room for improvement” is how Edward Rogers phrased it on Oct. 18, when he made his first public comment since he tried to oust Joe Natale, the chief executive officer of Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI), in late September.
He was speaking about the performance of the company his late father, Ted Rogers, founded and he purports to lead today: Rogers Communications. As everyone knows by now, he wants Natale out.
Mr. Rogers, of course, leads one of two groups of directors claiming to be the only legitimate board of directors overseeing the company. The other group, which includes two of his sisters and his mother, strongly disagrees. The Supreme Court of British Columbia is being asked to rule on the dispute that has riveted investors and sent the company’s shares diving to the lowest level since March. The court will hear the case on Nov. 1.
But what about Natale and his performance as the top executive at Rogers? It’s a question that lies at the centre of the chaos.
Recently released court documents show just how unhappy Mr. Rogers has been with the performance of Natale, a telecom executive regarded for years as a star by many industry watchers.
“I have grown increasingly concerned with Mr. Natale’s performance over the last two years,” said Mr. Rogers in an affidavit filed to the court in B.C. “While Mr. Natale has received some positive reviews, RCI has continued to lag behind its two main competitors, Bell and Telus, the company has missed its budgets the previous two years, and its share price has stagnated.” (BNN Bloomberg is owned by Bell Media, a unit of BCE Inc., which also owns Bell Canada.)
