Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T’s president of residential operations has left the company, triggering a series of changes in the telecom giant’s leadership ranks.
Zoran Stakic, a former Shaw Communications Inc. executive, joined Rogers during its takeover of its Calgary-based rival. He decided to leave the company for personal reasons, according to Rogers spokesperson Sarah Schmidt, who credited the executive with providing “strategic support with the Shaw integration.”
Mr. Stakic was at Rogers for less than a year. The leadership page on the company’s website, which updated this week, shows that Bret Leech, previously the chief human resources officer, has stepped into Mr. Stakic’s role.
Mr. Leech’s position, in turn, has been taken over by Marisa Fabiano, a senior vice-president of corporate finance and controller who has been closely involved in Rogers’s integration of its $20-billion takeover of Shaw.
Ms. Fabiano takes over the human resources role at a time when Rogers is offering a second round of voluntary severance packages to employees, after an initial offer last year that resulted in the departure of about 1,200 employees.
Mahes Wickramasinghe, meanwhile, has been appointed president of group operations, adding customer service to his portfolio. He was previously the telecom’s chief commercial officer.
“We’re building on the growth and momentum we’ve achieved over the last eight quarters with key executive changes to help transform our residential business and move to a digital first experience for our customers,” Ms. Schmidt said in a statement.
The recent changes follow shortly after the retirement of Robert Dépatie, a former Rogers director who stepped down from the board to lead the telecom’s home and business division. He retired at the end of last year.
Mr. Dépatie, who was at one point chair of the board of directors’ human-resources committee, joined the management team in December, 2021, after a tumultuous boardroom battle that resulted in the company’s then-CEO Joe Natale being replaced by its former chief financial officer, Tony Staffieri.
A number of executives trailed Mr. Natale out the door. The company made further changes to its leadership ranks in April, 2023, shortly after the Shaw deal closed, including hiring former federal industry minister Navdeep Bains as chief corporate affairs officer, adding chief of brand and communications Terrie Tweddle to the executive team and parting with chief regulatory officer Ted Woodhead.
Mr. Woodhead is currently embroiled in a legal fight with Rogers. He is seeking damages for “wrongful dismissal, breach of contract and unjust enrichment,” alleging that the company denied him his Shaw bonus. The company, meanwhile, argues that Mr. Woodhead was let go because of performance issues.
Alexandra Posadzki