Business

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

Published

3 years ago

November 17, 2021

Edward Rogers, whose family controls Rogers Communications, tried to get Natale to leave in September and had a plan to replace him with Tony Staffieri

Author of the article:

Barbara Shecter

Rogers President and CEO Joe Natale attends the company’s AGM in Toronto on April 18, 2019. Photo by Chris Young/The Canadian Press

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.

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 as the company searches for someone to take the job on a permanent basis.

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.

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, reputation, track record for results, and focus on long-term strategic growth, 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.

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.”

Rob Gemmell, the company’s lead director, issued a statement late Tuesday in which he said the board of Rogers had “expressed support for Joe Natale as Chief Executive Officer” over the past week and a half “and worked earnestly and in good faith to establish a constructive working relationship that would see Mr. Natale remain in his position” through the closing of the Shaw merger.

“Unfortunately, a mutually agreeable arrangement could not be reached,” Gemmell said, adding that Natale would be replaced with Staffieri, given “the need for continuity, stability, and the expeditious closing” of the deal.

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.

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.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Business

Japan’s SoftBank returns to profit after gains at Vision Fund and other investments

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.

Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).

SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.

The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.

WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.

SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.

SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.

SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.

The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on X:

Source link

Business

Trump campaign promises unlikely to harm entrepreneurship: Shopify CFO

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.

“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.

“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”

Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.

On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.

If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.

These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.

If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.

However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.

He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.

“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.

Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.

The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.

Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.

Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.

Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.

Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.

Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”

In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.

“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)

Source link

Business

RioCan cuts nearly 10 per cent staff in efficiency push as condo market slows

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.

The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.

The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.

RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.

The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.

RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)

Source link