Joe Natale out as Rogers CEO, to be replaced by former CFO Staffieri

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Less than two weeks after Edward Rogers was given a green light by British Columbia’s Supreme Court for his shakeup of the board of directors of Rogers Communications Inc., Joe Natale is out as CEO of the telecommunications giant.

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Natale’s replacement is Tony Staffieri, the company’s former chief financial officer, according to a statement issued late Tuesday by the $30-billion telecommunications company   that has cable, internet and wireless operations across the country.

Staffieri will be interim CEO and also a candidate for the permanent CEO role, the company said.

Edward Rogers, whose family controls 97.5 per cent of the voting shares of Rogers Communications through a trust, tried to get Natale to leave in September and had a plan to replace him with Staffieri. But after 10 of 11 directors initially voted in favour of a negotiated exit package for Natale, some of the company’s directors including members of Edward’s family voted instead to keep Natale and get rid of Staffieri.

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Sources familiar with the unfolding drama said a board meeting was called late Tuesday after Edward Rogers unveiled a plan to bring Staffieri back into the company and Natale balked.

The statement issued by the company Tuesday evening contained quotes from all three men that suggested good will and a return to stability.

Edward Rogers thanked Natale for “his leadership and contributions” to the company, including “paving the way” for a merger with rival Shaw Communications, which Rogers Communications is acquiring for $26 billion, pending regulatory approval. He praised Staffieri’s work ethic, track record for results, focus on long-term strategic growth and strong operational execution, and said as interim CEO he will lead an experienced leadership team that will continue to focus on the business, a return to stability, and the closing of the transformational merger with Shaw.

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But in a clear sign that the family drama behind the recent corporate and boardroom shakeups is not over, Edward’s mother Loretta and sister Martha Rogers and Melinda Rogers-Hixon said in statement that they are “disappointed that Edward has driven the termination of Joe Natale.”

They called Natale a “world-class telecom leader” and reiterated that they believe he was the right person to lead the company as CEO.

“The three of us voted against this misguided decision (to let Natale go), which creates great uncertainty for RCI and its employees, customers, sports fans and shareholders, not to mention the Shaw transaction,” they said.

“This is simply another instance in which Edward has placed his desire for unchecked control over RCI (Rogers) ahead of basic good governance and responsible corporate stewardship.”

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In the company’s statement, Natale said he was “grateful for the opportunity to lead Rogers Communications through a critical time in its history” and added that he remains excited about the potential of the Shaw acquisition. He said it had been “a privilege to build a team of such extraordinary character and ability” and he wished the staff “continued success and good fortune in the future.”

In the same statement, Staffieri said it was “a real privilege and honour” to be assuming the role of Interim president and CEO, and added that he was “excited to be working in this new role with the Rogers family, the Board, the leadership team and (staff) from coast-to-coast-to-coast.”

The corporate shakeup comes at a crucial time for Rogers Communications, with the Rogers and Shaw teams, including Edward Rogers, set to appear in front of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on Nov. 22 to seek approval for the Shaw acquisition.

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The corporate and family squabble led to an unusual situation where, for a time, two different boards of directors claimed they controlled the company. In court papers filed in the lead-up to a hearing in B.C. earlier this month, Edward Rogers claimed that the board’s sudden change of heart about Natale’s exit in September had caused him to lose faith in five of the company’s independent directors and he sought to remove them.

In turn, he was stripped of the role of chair of the board of directors, a position he later reclaimed after reconstituting the board of directors with five of his own hand-picked directors.

On Nov. 5, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick ruled that Edward Rogers had the power, through his position as chair of the Rogers family trust, to change directors and to do so without calling a shareholder meeting.