TORONTO – Wednesday evening, Robert Gemmell, Alan Horn and Philip Lind all issued statements weighing in on the ongoing power struggle at Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) and supporting Edward Rogers.
The statements follow the filing of court documents by Mr. Rogers in the Supreme Court of British Columbia Tuesday, and subsequent reports disputing some of the information laid out by Mr. Rogers in those documents.
Gemmell, who notes in his statement he has been an independent director at RCI since 2017, said: “As Board Chair, Edward has always acted deliberately with consideration and with preference for consultation. The discussion surrounding Joe’s (RCI CEO Joe Natale) performance did not begin with Edward. There were concerns from several directors, including myself, for months and even years.”
“The events and positions taken by all directors in relation to Joe’s resignation and the elevation of Tony to CEO are now a matter of public record. That is so, despite recent statements attempting to recast those events.”
Gemmell said Mr. Rogers’s changes to the RCI board “were needed to restore good governance at the Company.” He further stated: “In the interests of all stakeholders, I urge the misguided attacks to stop so that we can get on with improving the operational and financial performance of RCI, closing the Shaw transaction, and returning Rogers to a position of leadership in the telecommunications industry in Canada.”
Alan Horn said in his statement: “During my nearly 30 years with Rogers Communications, I have served as CFO, interim CEO, and Chair of the Board. I assess business performance based on the facts, share price, relative total shareholder return, and key performance indicators. I am sure those looking at this story with a critical eye and a view to business performance will cut through the noise.”
In his statement, Philip Lind said: “I was at Ted’s side since 1969 and helped build Rogers Communications into the success it is today over my 53-year career with the company.”
He points out he is also on the Rogers Control Trust’s advisory committee and said “Ted created that Committee to ensure the Chair of the Trust is working in the best interests of the business. If there were any doubts about Edward’s account, the Committee would have prevented him from reconstituting the Board on Friday, October 22.
“It is extremely unfortunate that Edward is being forced to implement the wishes of the controlling shareholder in court. The actions he took were appropriate and necessary. More importantly, there is no question he has the authority to implement these changes as Chair of the Rogers Control Trust.”
Both Horn and Lind have previously issued statements expressing support for Mr. Rogers. Gemmell, according to an affidavit from Mr. Rogers filed with the court Tuesday, was the only one present (several board members were absent) at a Sept. 29 board meeting to vote against implementing a resolution that included rescinding a previous resolution to accept Natale’s resignation (as Cartt.ca reported yesterday, whether the board ever voted out Natale is disputed).
