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Media Beat: November 15, 2021

By David Farrell

Future of Rogers senior executives still unclear after court ruling

A B.C. Supreme Court ruling has resolved uncertainty over who sits on the board of Rogers Communications Inc., but the future of the telecom and media giant’s senior leadership team remains unclear.


More than a month after company chair Edward Rogers attempted to oust the chief executive officer and other senior executives, triggering a spectacular boardroom showdown that split the Rogers family, Joe Natale remains at the helm of Canada’s largest wireless carrier.

Analysts said on Monday that Mr. Rogers may preserve the management team at least until after the proposed $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. is complete. – Alexandra Posadzki, The Globe and Mail

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Is Natale out as CEO of Rogers?

Experts surveyed by the Star predict he is — it’s just a matter of timing

Most executives have not spoken publicly about their plans at the company. But in an affidavit filed last week, Rogers’ wireless business president David Fuller implied he would not want to be part of a new management team designed by Edward.

“The reason I joined Rogers was because of the opportunity to work with Joe Natale,” Fuller wrote. “My strong preference would be to continue to do so.” – Jacob Lorinc, The Star

Edward Rogers won the war — but that victory may still cost his company dearly

The decision by Rogers Communications Inc. to not appeal a court decision last week handed company chair Edward Rogers a decisive victory in his battle for control of the telecom company that bears his family name.

Long-simmering tensions at the family-run company spilled out into the open last month, giving ordinary Canadians an unprecedented glimpse into the behind-the-scenes details at play with the powerful family.

While the ruling handed the keys of the castle to Edward Rogers for the foreseeable future, the costs associated with his win may make for a pyrrhic victory — making it even harder for him to fix the mismanagement and stock underperformance that he says has plagued the company for years.

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The legal costs of the fight alone are not insignificant. – Pete Evans, CBC News

Leaked Facebook document shows how often the company restores posts

An internal memo titled “Appeal Rate per country” includes a chart of the top 38 countries by the number of posts taken down by Facebook in a single month in 2019. The U.S. tops the chart with almost 2.6 million “takedowns” during that period; Canada is 38th, with a little more than 123,000.

The chart shows a large discrepancy between the percentage of removed posts that are restored in Europe and North America (where it ranges from 2.8 percent to 5 percent) and countries in Asia, South America and the Middle East (where it ranges from 0.8 percent to 1.8 percent). – Marco Chown Oved, The Star

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Val Blavatnik
Courtesy WMG

Val Blavatnik

Business News

Val Blavatnik to Oversee Warner Music Canada in New Role at Warner Music Group

Blavatnik will oversee Warner Music Canada as managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at WMG. As part of a slew of executive announcements, Simon Robson will be leaving the company, while Alejandro Duque takes the top international role.

Val Blavatnik, the 28-year-old son of Warner Music Group majority owner and vice chairman Len Blavatnik, has been named managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at the Warner Music Group, the company announced Friday (Sept. 25). In his new role the younger Blavatnik, who has held several roles at the company in recent years, and has been a board member since 2023, expects to “unify and drive business and operational strategy across these markets while guiding the company’s investment strategy to support growth,” according to a press release.

The Blavatnik announcement is part of a flurry of new executive announcements that CEO Robert Kyncl made this morning. In addition, Atlantic Music Group chairman/CEO Elliot Grainge will take on ADA in the U.S. as its new chairman, while Alejandro Duque, who has held the dual roles of president of Warner Latin and president of ADA since last July, has been named president of Warner Music International, adding Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa under his oversight. (Duque will continue to oversee ADA outside the U.S.) Zach Friedman, currently COO at Atlantic Music Group, will add the title of vice chair of ADA U.S. to his resume.

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