Succession-style drama at Rogers? Turmoil at telco after heir Edward tries and fails to oust CEO

Rogers Communications Inc. is setting up a three-person committee to manage interactions between the company's CEO and the chair of the board after a messy battle behind the scenes for control of the company.

The move comes amid an apparent rift between Edward Rogers, board chair and son of company founder Ted, and CEO Joe Natale, who was a longtime executive and CEO at Telus before Rogers tapped him to head up the company in 2017.

As first reported by the Globe and Mail newspaper, Edward Rogers has been trying to oust Natale as CEO and replace him with chief financial officer Tony Staffieri.

At a recent board meeting, that move was blocked by Edward's sister, Melinda Rogers-Hixon, who worked with other board and family members to defend Natale, according to media reports.

Staffieri abruptly left the company on September 29, and no explanation has been given for his departure.

On Thursday, the company announced the formation of the new committee to manage interactions between the CEO of the company and the chair of the board who bears the founder's name.

In its management discussion and analysis released with its quarterly results on Thursday, the telecommunications company says it is establishing a new executive oversight committee to "assist the chair of the board and the president and chief executive officer in discharging their respective duties, and to establish clear protocols for interactions between the chair and members of management."

None of the parties have said much publicly about the rift, but it is clear that there is dissension behind the scenes. In one of his few public statements on the matter, Edward Rogers made it clear he thinks there is "room for improvement" in the company's performance.

"In my role as chair of the Rogers Control Trust, the controlling shareholder of the company, it is my responsibility to put the interests of [the company] first," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

"It's disappointing the focus of others has strayed from what is best for the business."

Associate professor Richard Powers with the Rotman School of Management in Toronto says corporate power struggles behind the scenes are not unheard of, but having one play out in public at a company the size of Rogers is. 

"The fact that we're seeing it is both fascinating and just shows that ... family dynamics are difficult ... when there's billions of dollars at risk," he said in an interview with CBC News.

"This is Canada's Succession right now," he went on, referring to the popular HBO show that details cutthroat battles between family members to take control of a fictional billion-dollar company. "The fact that it's playing out in the media makes it all that more intriguing, and ... something is going to happen and it's going to happen quickly."

The drama is the second time the Rogers family has been embroiled in a public controversy in recent months, as the family was photographed hobnobbing with former U.S. president Donald Trump at his Florida resort in May.