Videotron losing its CEO as Brouillette announces departure

Manon Brouillette, who has been at the helm of Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron for the past five years, is leaving the company in what National Bank analyst Adam Shine said is a surprise move. Quebecor announced in a press release Tuesday morning that Brouillette would be leaving for personal reasons at the end of the year, and starting in January 2019 would be named to the board of directors. Shine said he expects the company to announce her replacement by the end of the year. “Ms. Brouillette will be leaving behind a seasoned group of colleagues who can be expected to continue driving the company's solid Cable and strong Wireless results,” Shine said in a Tuesday research note. Both Shine and Barclays analyst Phillip Huang pointed out the only recent addition to the company’s leadership is CFO Philippe Cloutier, who joined Videotron last June. “The leadership in marketing, engineering, call center, content, and HR are all longstanding colleagues at the company,” Huang said. He added Brouillette’s appointment to the board of directors indicates there’s no “internal friction with other members of management or Pierre Karl Péladeau,” and that she appears to have left to spend more time with family. Huang said Brouillette, who was “instrumental” in making Videotron a strong wireless player in Quebec, is also “well liked and respected by the Street.” RBC analyst Drew McReynolds said the departure is a hit for Videotron, writing in a Tuesday note that “we view Ms. Brouillette as one of the leading telecom executives in Canada and see her departure as directionally negative for the company.” “Nevertheless, Videotron has successfully managed executive transitions in the past and we would expect this transition period to be no different,” he added. Scotiabank analyst Jeff Fan said in a note Brouillette is “highly regarded by the financial community for delivering outstanding growth at Videotron,” and doing so while competing directly with BCE Inc. Fan added he believes the company is likely to look internally for its next CEO. “Some potential candidates are likely to come from her current team,” he said. Brouillette has been with Videotron for 14 years and was appointed CEO and president five years ago. Over that time, the company launched an LTE network, toyed with the idea of taking its wireless service national, made investments in original content for its streaming service and data centres, and began testing 5G tech in partnership with Ericsson AB. Last year, Videotron signed up its millionth wireless subscriber, and in recent months has been working on its IPTV platform and launched a new flanker brand. Not all of its initiatives in recent years worked out -- its Unlimited Music offering led to a CRTC decision that ultimately established such zero-rating services run afoul of net neutrality rules. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Kyle Duggan at kduggan@thewirereport.ca

Videotron losing its CEO as Brouillette announces departure

News | October 16, 2018

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Videotron losing its CEO as Brouillette announces departure

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