Former Rogers CEO Joe Natale suing for wrongful dismissal, breach of contract
I’ve cut and pasted a story from today’s Globe & Mail below which is yet another example of the toxic management culture at the top of Canada’s big 3 telecoms. Canadians wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about the travails of these capricious overpaid oligarchs were not for the fact that they have monopoly control over our essential telephone and Internet services. This is more evidence of why the CRTC or Competition Bureau needs to break up these vertically-integrated companies by structurally separating their wholesale networks from their retail services and then closely regulating the wholesale entities to ensure Canadians have the universal and affordable FTTP they desperately need, supported by a resilient core infrastructure and operated in the public interest, not in the interest of a few cowboy executives and shareholders at the top…
ALEXANDRA POSADZKITELECOM REPORTER
Former Rogers CEO Joe Natale speaks to shareholders during the Rogers annual general meeting in 2018.NATHAN DENETTE/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Joe Natale, who was ousted as CEO of Rogers Communications in 2021 amid a dramatic power struggle in the telecom’s upper ranks, is suing the company for at least $24-million for wrongful dismissal and breach of contract.
Rogers countered with a statement alleging that Mr. Natale “engaged in serious misconduct” by awarding himself “excessive compensation” without proper approval from the board.
According to a statement of claim filed on Thursday, Mr. Natale is also seeking “punitive, moral, and aggravated damages,” claiming that the company’s chairman and controlling shareholder, Edward Rogers, and his wife Suzanne Rogers “intentionally disparaged Natale and took steps to tarnish his reputation.”
Mr. Natale said that one such effort involved Mr. Rogers or his wife hiring Brian Cox, the actor who portrays media mogul Logan Roy on HBO’s acclaimed television drama Succession, to create a disparaging video about Natale.
“Edward Rogers and/or Suzanne Rogers distributed the Viral Video to family members, friends, colleagues, and contacts. As a result, the Viral Video was viewed by numerous members of Natale’s family, business, and personal communities,” the statement of claim reads. It was also reported on by various media outlets and disseminated widely on social media channels, the statement of claim said.
A statement provided to The Globe and Mail by Rogers spokesperson Sarah Schmidt said that as a result of an independent investigation, the company has “made the necessary decision to terminate him for cause.”
“The investigation reveals that in October 2021, Mr. Natale knew that steps were being taken to make changes to the board and this would end his tenure as CEO. Before his departure, he awarded himself excessive compensation without proper board approval. This, and other actions, were a serious breach of his fiduciary duties as a chief executive officer and director of a public company,” the statement said.
“Mr. Natale was aware of the investigation and given an opportunity to respond. He understood the implications of its findings and the lawsuit is an attempt to get ahead of the investigation. While we would have preferred to deal with this matter privately, Mr. Natale has left us with no choice. The company will defend itself vigorously against his baseless claim and will file a counterclaim to address his improper behaviour.”
A spokesperson for Mr. Natale said he “remains proud of his achievements at Rogers Communications.”
“It is unfortunate that Rogers will not honour its commitments made to Mr. Natale. His employment agreement, put in place by the Board of Directors at the time was clearly articulated, duly executed and designed to ensure continuity during the Shaw merger. We are confident that the courts will share this view,” Bill Walker of MidtownPR said in a statement.
Mr. Natale was replaced by the company’s former chief financial officer, Tony Staffieri, in November of 2021.