Jordan Banks is exiting Rogers Communications as President of Rogers Sports & Media (RSM). He’ll be replaced by Colette Watson, RSM’s former SVP of Television & Broadcast Operations and current President of CPAC ((Cable Public Affairs Channel).
Banks was appointed President of the division in Sept. 2019 after serving as the Managing Director of Facebook and Instagram Canada and previously working as Facebook’s Global Head of Vertical Strategy. Hired to drive growth across sports and local, with a focus on digital, he’d also had experience in executive and management roles at JumpTV, eBay Canada, and the National Hockey League Players’ Association in their international business and licensing group.
The president’s role includes oversight of business across Rogers’ 23 conventional and specialty channels, 29 local TV stations, 54 radio stations, and three OTT services, including Sportsnet, Citytv, OMNI Television, Rogers Radio, the Toronto Blue Jays, and TSC (Today’s Shopping Choice), in addition to branded podcast creator Pacific Content and the Frequency Podcast Network.
Watson, who has a 30-year history with Rogers, will take up her new position on Monday, Jan. 17. As of Friday afternoon, her new role was already reflected on Rogers’ corporate leadership site.
Julie Adam, who succeeded Watson when she vacated the role of SVP of Television & Broadcast in 2020 and now holds the title of Head of News & Entertainment, confirmed to Broadcast Dialogue that her position remains unchanged.
Banks is the second executive to depart in the last week as newly-appointed President & CEO Tony Staffieri takes the reins of the company after serving in the role on a temporary basis since mid-November. Dave Fuller has stepped down as President of Rogers Wireless. In the role since March of last year, he previously spent 15 years with TELUS. Phil Hartling is now in charge of the Wireless division. Meanwhile, Sevaun Palvetzian, Chief Communications Officer, and Dan Golberg, SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development, have also left the company. Like Banks, both had been with Rogers for less than three years and were hires under former President & CEO Joe Natale.
In an email to Broadcast Dialogue, Andrea Goldstein, Senior Director of Communications for Rogers Sports & Media said the department would not be commenting on executive changes.
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