MONTRÉAL and HALIFAX,
Oct. 14, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - BCE Inc.
and Bell Aliant Inc. today announced that Siim Vanaselja, Chief Financial Officer of BCE
and Bell Canada, will retire in the second quarter of 2015.
Glen LeBlanc, currently CFO of BCE
affiliate Bell Aliant, will become Chief Financial Officer of BCE
and Bell Canada at that time.
"Our succession plan for the CFO role leverages the exceptional
executive talent at the BCE group of companies to ensure a smooth
transition," said George Cope,
President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada. "Siim Vanaselja has been a key leader in BCE's
transformation into a re-energized competitor in every sector of
communications, building a robust capital markets strategy, guiding
important strategic acquisitions, and delivering on our commitment
to shareholder value through consistent dividend growth. Siim has
worked closely for the last decade with his successor Glen LeBlanc, an accomplished CFO who has helped
build our Halifax-based affiliate
Bell Aliant into one of the best-run telcos in North America."
Mr. Vanaselja will retire after BCE's 2015 Annual General
Meeting of Shareholders, scheduled for April
30, 2015, and before the end of Q2 2015. He will continue to
serve on the Board of Directors of Maple Leaf Sports and
Entertainment (MLSE).
"As CFO of Canada's largest
communications company since 2001, Siim
Vanaselja has successfully advanced the financial strength
of the BCE group to the benefit of our customers, shareholders and
team. In both challenging and prosperous economic times, Siim's
integrity and expertise have earned him the deepest respect of the
financial community, government leaders and his industry peers –
and BCE's most sincere thanks for his many accomplishments," said
Tom O'Neill, Chair of the Board of
BCE and Bell Canada. "We look forward to working with Siim and Glen
to ensure a smooth and straightforward transition of the CFO role
next spring."
Following the closing of BCE's privatization of Bell Aliant and
until Mr. Vanaselja's retirement, Mr. LeBlanc will serve as Senior
Vice President, Finance for BCE. As CFO of BCE, he will be located
at the company's Montréal headquarters and will maintain an office
at Bell Aliant's headquarters in Halifax.
Siim
Vanaselja
Siim
Vanaselja has served as Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada since January 2001. He joined the BCE group in
February 1994 and has held a range of
senior positions, including CFO of Bell Canada International from
1996 to 2001. Named in 2009 to the federal Advisory Committee on
Financing by Finance Minister Jim
Flaherty, Mr. Vanaselja serves on the boards of TransCanada,
Great-West Lifeco and MLSE.
Glen
LeBlanc
Glen LeBlanc
has served more than 2 decades of his finance career with Bell
Aliant and its predecessor companies. Joining Aliant in 1993, he
held increasingly senior executive positions before being appointed
Vice President, Finance and Controller in 2000 and Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer in 2005. Recognized as one of
Canada's Top 40 Under 40,
Mr. LeBlanc has served on the board of Certified Management
Accountants of Nova Scotia since
2005 and chairs the Creating Champions campaign at Cape Breton University.
BCE's privatization of Bell Aliant
On July 23, 2014, BCE announced it will privatize
its Bell Aliant affiliate, which BCE already controlled, by
acquiring the interest of public minority shareholders for
approximately $3.95 billion. The
transaction is expected to close on or about October 31, 2014 and a new regional leader for
Bell Aliant will be announced at that time.
Integrated into BCE's national operations, Bell Aliant will
continue to serve customers in New
Brunswick, Newfoundland and
Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island from its Halifax headquarters. BCE plans capital
investment of $2.1 billion in
Atlantic Canada over the next 5
years, including mobile 4G LTE expansion to more than 100
additional small towns and rural locations across the region by the
end of 2015. Bell also recently announced the acquisition of two
new call centres in New Brunswick
that will bring 700 more Atlantic region jobs into the national BCE
team.
About Bell Aliant
Bell Aliant is one of North America's largest regional
communications providers and the first company in Canada to cover an entire city with
fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology with its FibreOP™ services.
Through its operating entities, it serves customers in six Canadian
provinces with innovative information, communication and technology
services, including voice, data, Internet, video and value-added
business solutions. Bell Aliant's employees deliver the highest
quality of customer service, choice and convenience. For more
information, please visit BellAliant.ca.
About BCE
BCE is Canada's largest communications company,
providing a comprehensive and innovative suite of broadband
communication services to residential and business customers under
the Bell Canada and Bell Aliant brands. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with
leading assets in television, radio, out of home and digital media,
including CTV, Canada's #1
television network, and the country's most-watched specialty
channels. To learn more, please visit BCE.ca.
Bell Let's Talk promotes Canadian mental health with national
awareness and anti-stigma campaigns – like Clara's Big Ride for
Bell Let's Talk and Bell Let's Talk Day – and significant Bell
funding of community care and access, research, and workplace
initiatives. Since 2010, Bell Let's Talk has committed more than
$67.5 million to support mental
health programs in every region of Canada. To learn more, please visit
Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
SOURCE BCE Inc.