George Alexander Cope CM (born 28 July 1961) is a Canadian businessman, and the former CEO of Bell Canada.
George A. Cope | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 July 1961 |
| Education | University of Western Ontario (BBA, 1984) |
Early life and education
editCope was born in Scarborough, Ontario and grew up in Port Perry.[1] Cope's father played for a short time for the Toronto Argonauts, after which he ran gas stations and rustproofing shops. Cope's mother ran a store that sold fabrics.[1] Cope attended Port Perry High School[1] and played on the high school's basketball team and was also student council president. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with honours in 1984 from the Ivey Business School at Western University.[2]
Career
editCope was named CEO of Bell[citation needed] at the age of 53 as part of a proposed thirty five billion dollar leveraged buyout led by Providence Equity and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund in 2008.[3] Due to the credit crunch and the ensuing financial crisis of 2007–08, however, the buyout was cancelled. He led a competitor, Telus Mobility, before becoming President at Bell in 2005. He previously ran Clearnet, a wireless company that was bought by Telus in 2000.[3]
In 2010, Cope led the launch of the Bell Let's Talk Initiative,[4] a major corporate campaign to improve mental health in Canada, for which he received The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.[citation needed]
In June 2019, BCE announced Cope will retire in January 2020, at which point COO Mirko Bibic will become CEO.[5] Over the past 10 years, under Cope's leadership, company profits tripled to $3.05 billion.[6]
Community involvement
editCope sits on the board of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) and was instrumental in the firing of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke after BCE acquired MLSE.[7] As of 2015, Cope is also a member of the Richard Ivey School of Business Advisory Board at Western University and a member of the Business Council of Canada.[2]
Recognition
editCope was named Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year in 2015. He was also listed as one of Canada's top-paid CEO's by The Globe and Mail in 2014.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c "George Cope: 'Really loves to win'". The Star. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ a b "BCE's George Cope named Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year". The Financial Post. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ a b "The wireless guy: How BCE's George Cope cut the cord at Bell". The Financial Post. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ "Bell CEO Launches $50 Million Mental Health Initiative". The Globe and Mail. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ "CEO George Cope to retire as head of BCE". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ Investing (28 June 2019). "George Cope to retire as president and CEO of BCE in January 2020 | Financial Post". Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "Brian Burke fired: Decision by Toronto Maple Leafs' new suits lacked class: Cox | The Star". Toronto Star.
- ^ "Executive compensation: Canada's 100 top-paid CEOs". The Globe and Mail. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
External links
edit- George Cope's Biography at BCE.ca Archived 23 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
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