Rogers Communications has announced that John A MacDonald has assumed the role of chairman of the board of directors. He replaces Edward Rogers, who has stepped down as chairman but remains on the board as a company director. The Rogers family subsequently announced that it is seeking to appoint a new board at the company.
Edward Rogers announced in his role as chair of the Rogers Control Trust a proposal to change the board of directors. The trust looks after the Rogers' family shareholding in the company and controls 97.5 percent of voting Class A shares. It also owns almost 10 percent of the non-voting B shares.
The trust proposes removing John Clappison, David Peterson, Bonnie Brooks, Ellis Jacob and John MacDonald as directors of Rogers Communications and to appoint Michael Cooper, Jack Cockwell, Jan Innes, Ivan Fecan and John Kerr in their place. Given the trust's controlling stake in the company, the resolution is expected to be approved 22 October, the trust said in a statement.
Rogers Communications later issued another statement, saying it received the trust's proposal and after consulting with legal counsel, found the resolution invalid. The company's board said it was not aware of such a mechanism being used before to change a board and called for a procedure giving proper notice and a vote to all shareholders. It also reiterated its support, along with management for the planned merger with Shaw Communications.
MacDonald has been a member of the board since 2012 and holds the role of lead director and chair of the corporate governance committee. He and the other board members issued a statement saying the support CEO Joe Natale and the current management.
