Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed plans to retire in January 2014, and the wireless company is set to begin an international search to replace him.
鈥淭he company鈥檚 in great shape and it鈥檚 time to start the transition to the next generation of leadership. Over the next year I look forward to delivering strong results and to ensuring a seamless transition,鈥 Mohamed said in the statement, released late Thursday night.
Mohamed joined Rogers in 2000, and was president of the company鈥檚 wireless division before being appointed president and COO of Rogers Communications Group in 2005. He became CEO in 2009, following the 2008 death of company founder Ted Rogers.
According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Mohamed made $8.2 million in the role in 2011.
During his time at the company, Mohamed introduced Rogers鈥檚 no-frills brand Chatr to fend off a challenge from low-cost carriers like Mobilicity. He also bolstered the range of programming Rogers could offer its customers through acquisitions. In its statement, the company noted that Mohamed oversaw a period when Rogers 鈥渂ecame the largest wireless carrier in Canada.鈥
鈥淣adir skilfully led the company during an extraordinary time of change in our history and the history of our industry,鈥 said Edward Rogers, Deputy Chairman and Chair of the Rogers Control Trust.
Mohamed grew up in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and attended boarding school in Devon, England. His parents moved to Vancouver when Mohamed was in England, and he eventually joined them in 1971, earning a commerce degree at UBC.
A notes that Mohamed became a wireless entrepreneur by fluke, when a friend couldn鈥檛 make an appointment for a job interview at BC Tel. Mohamed decided to go in his friend鈥檚 place. That鈥檚 when his rise to the top began.
He arrived at Rogers around the time the company purchased the Blue Jays in 2000. He brought his 鈥渓earn-everything-possible鈥 approach to the newly acquired baseball holding 鈥 a sport he didn鈥檛 know a lot about.
Paul Beeston, the team鈥檚 president of baseball operations, told the Star in 2011 that Mohamed understood the game and was able to talk about players that weren鈥檛 the stars. He addressed the players at the beginning and end of each season.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been instrumental in making sure we get deals done,鈥 Beeston said at the time, noting how quickly he signed off on Jose Bautista鈥檚 $65 million contract.
Mohamed is not known for seeking personal publicity and did not speak to the Star for the 2011 profile, but friends and colleagues portrayed him as sincere and caring with a self-deprecating wit, a corporate executive who takes a keen interest in his employees, including the superstar athletes.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the Lord put too many people on the Earth the same as he is,鈥 Beeston said in 2011. 鈥淗e is polite, he鈥檚 considerate, he鈥檚 smart, he鈥檚 tough in a very sensitive way. He is probably as fair and as decent a person as I鈥檝e ever worked with.鈥
Rogers is appointing a search committee and plans to hire a firm to find Mohamed鈥檚 successor. The company said that neither Edward Rogers nor Melinda Rogers, children of founder Ted Rogers, will put their names forward to succeed Mohamed, although they, along with Mohamed, will be involved in the search.
With files from Paul Hunter and Bloomberg
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