TELUS today announced a number of leadership changes with CEO Darren Entwistle stepping down to take on the role of Executive Chair of TELUS starting on May 8, 2014, when the company holds its Annual General Meeting. Joe Natale, who has been TELUS’ Chief Commercial Officer since 2010, will become the new TELUS CEO.
“I am honoured to be appointed TELUS’ next President and CEO,” said Mr. Natale. “TELUS is a highly recognized global leader on multiple fronts that span from shareholder value creation through to caring for our communities. I look forward to working closely with Darren and the TELUS executive leadership team to further the progression of our national growth strategy and in particular, to continue advancing our top priority of always putting our customers first.”
For his part, Mr. Entwistle said, “I am very pleased that our best in class succession planning process has resulted in Joe Natale being named as our next President and CEO and am excited to continue working with him in leading the progression of our national growth strategy. Joe is an exceptionally proven and highly capable leader. Clearly, Joe’s excellent progression through several executive roles, culminating in his most recent capacity as our Chief Commercial Officer, has prepared him exceedingly well for this next step in his career. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Joe and the TELUS Board, including Dick Auchinleck as our Lead Director, as we strive to continuously create leading value for our investors, customers, team members and communities.”
TELUS also announced that Brian Canfield, TELUS’ non-executive Chair since 1999, will retire May 8 while Dick Auchinleck is being appointed Lead Director of TELUS. In this role, Auchinleck will “provide leadership to foster the effectiveness of the Board in conjunction with Mr. Entwistle while ensuring that the Board functions independently of management as and when required.”
Entwistle took on the role of TELUS CEO back in 2000. Under his leadership, TELUS has become Canada’s second-largest wireless carrier in Canada.
Source : TELUS