Canada’s Telus has reappointed Darren Entwistle as chief executive effective immed iately, replacing Joe Natale who has held the role for less than 18 months.
In a statement on Monday, the telco claimed the decision was taken after Natale refused to relocate to Western Canada. Telus is based in Vancouver, on the country’s West coast.
With Natale having taken over from Entwistle as recently as March 2014, the announcement came as a surprise, prompting some commentators to question whether there is more to his departure than simply his address.
"If this were just related to whether he had to move out west – that would have been worked out back at the time he was offered the job," said David Heger, senior equity analyst at Edward Jones, in a report by Canada’s Business News Network (BNN).
To add to the mystery, Monday’s announcement was made less than a week after Telus presented a solid set of second quarter financial results.
Last Thursday, the telco reported that revenue increased 5.1% year-on-year to C$3.1 billion (€2.1 billion), while EBITDA excluding restructuring costs grew 5.1% to C$1.1 billion.
Telus ended June with 13.9 million customers, comprised of 5.60 million fixed-line and 8.35 million mobile customers. A year earlier, the operator had 5.5 million fixed and 8.1 million mobile subscribers, giving it 13.6 million in total.
"There is more to this than meets the eye," said Patrick Horan, principal at Agilith Capital, in BNN’s report.
"These transitions should be smooth, they should be well telegraphed – given they had their quarterly call on Friday and now they are making this announcement on Monday – read between the lines," he said, without proffering his own theory about Natale’s sudden departure.
Natale will step down from the board and stay on in an executive role for the rest of the year to ensure a smooth transition. Telus has also appointed a new chairman in Dick Auchinleck.
"Since joining Telus in 2003 and through his service as our chief commercial officer and chief executive officer, Joe has been a tremendous leader for our company and a dedicated champion for our many stakeholders," said Entwistle.
"I am immensely proud of the Telus team and the role I have played in helping Telus to achieve excellence on a global basis across a multitude of business measures," Natale added. "I am confident that Telus is poised for continuing success in the years ahead and I will work with Darren and the leadership team to ensure this transition is successful."
