Videotron CEO Brouillette stepping down at end of 2018
Videotron Inc. chief executive and president Manon Brouillette will step down at the end of the year after five years leading the company to strong wireless growth.
Brouillette, who has worked at Quebecor for 14 years, is departing for personal reasons, Videotron owner Quebecor Inc. announced Tuesday. It has not yet named a successor but will do so “in due course.”
Though Brouillette is leaving her executive role, her name will be put forward for appointment to the board of directors.
In a statement, Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau thanked Brouillette for her “vital contribution” to Videotron’s success and Quebecor’s business model over her 14 years at the company. Péladeau said he will be pleased to have her expertise as a director starting in January 2019.
Videotron has nearly doubled its number of wireless subscribers to about 1.1 million since Brouillette, the only female CEO of a major Canadian wireless carrier, took the helm in the spring of 2014.
“Given the significant growth of Videotron, we view Ms. Brouillette as one of the leading telecom executives in Canada and see her departure as directionally negative for the company,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Drew McReynolds noted to clients Tuesday.
But McReynolds is encouraged by her potential board appointment. He expects Quebecor will successfully manage the executive transition given it has done so in the past.