National Post (National Edition)
TELLIER’S TIME
Led company through shift to digital model
Yellow Media chief executive figures 12 years is enough.
After leading struggling Yellow Media Ltd. through a financial restructuring, Marc Tellier plans to step down as president and chief executive, the company said Thursday.
Mr. Tellier will remain in the role until a search committee settles on a candidate, but will exit no later than Aug. 15.
He has led the Montrealbased publisher of the Yellow Pages print and online directories since 2001, a difficult period for the company as it grappled with how to transition its legacy print business to a digital model.
Yellow Media completed a massive restructuring in December — under which its lenders swapped debt for secured and unsecured debt and new shares in the company — shedding about $1.5-billion in debt in the process.
The recapitalization was a tough sell for Mr. Tellier, who conducted a tense call with Yellow Media’s creditors last August, warning the company would be forced to seek bankruptcy protection if they did not agree to the restructuring.
After the creditors eventually signed on, the transaction was blessed by the Quebec Superior Court and became effective Dec. 20.
New Yellow Media shares have increased by about 50% since then, although they were down a little more than 1% to $10.35 by midday Thursday following news of the management change.
“As a result of the recapitalization which was implemented in December 2012, I believe Yellow Pages Group is now well-positioned to successfully continue its digital transformation,” Mr. Tellier said Thursday.
Robert MacLellan, chairman of the Yellow Media board, will head up the search committee for a replacement.
“We thank Marc for his leadership and many years of devoted service to Yellow Pages Group and his agreement to remain in order to assist in effecting a smooth transition,” Mr. MacLellan said. “We look
We thank Marc for his leadership
forward to appointing a new chief executive officer who can continue the ongoing transformation of YPG into a leading digital advertising and marketing solutions company.”
Mr. Tellier, the son of prominent Quebec public servant and businessman Paul Tellier, came to Yellow Media after more than a decade with BCE Inc. and was senior vice-president of partnership development at Bell Canada before joining the directory company. YELLOW MEDIA LTD.
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