Telus Names Darren Entwistle Executive Chair, Promotes Joe Natale To CEO

(RTTNews) - Canadian telecommunications company Telus Corp. (TU, T.TO, T_A.TO) announced Monday the appointment of President and Chief executive Officer Darren Entwistle as executive chair, and the promotion of Chief Commercial Officer Joe Natale to be the new president and CEO. The move is part of the company's leadership progression plan in order to maintain continuity in its national growth strategy.

Further, the company appointed Dick Auchinleck as the lead director of Telus. Auchinleck, who joined the Telus board in 2003, has also served for several years as the lead director for ConocoPhillips (COP).

All the appointments will be effective as of the upcoming Annual General Meeting on May 8. Auchinleck, Entwistle and Natale are also nominees for election as directors at the AGM.

The Vancouver, Canada-based wireless giant noted that Entwistle succeeds Brian Canfield, who is retiring after a 58-year career at Telus and the now merger BC Telecon, Inc. Canfield has most recently served as non-executive Chair since 1999, and now moves on to be honored as Chairman Emeritus of Telus.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my full career as well as my tenure as Chair of TELUS. Through our comprehensive succession planning process, I am very confident that TELUS is positioned for continuing success with Darren Entwistle as our new Executive Chair, Joe Natale becoming our President and CEO, and Dick Auchinleck being appointed the company's Lead Director," Canfield said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Natale succeeds Entwistle, who has led the company since he joined it in 2000. Prior to Telus, Entwistle has spent seven years on the senior leadership team at Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWIXF, CWC.L) in the U.K.

Natale will join the Telus board of directors, reporting to Entwistle. He joined Telus in 2003 as an executive vice president and has progressed through increasingly expansive roles, including being the president of Telus business solutions and president of Telus consumer solutions. He has served as chief commercial officer since 2010.

Prior to joining Telus in 2003, Natale held successive senior leadership roles within KPMG Consulting, including country leader for Canada, global managing director for the automotive and transportation practice, managing partner for the consumer and industrial markets teams in Canada.

Natale joined KPMG after the company he co-founded, PNO Management Consultants Inc., was acquired by KPMG in 1997.

"I am very pleased that our best in class succession planning process has resulted in Joe Natale being named as our next President and CEO and am excited to continue working with him in leading the progression of our national growth strategy. Joe is an exceptionally proven and highly capable leader," Entwistle noted.

In Monday's regular trading session, TU is currently trading at $36.69, up $0.15 or 0.41% on a volume of 16,650 shares.