Ailing communications magnate Ted Rogers has been admitted to hospital, forcing him to relinquish his duties as CEO of his sprawling cable TV, wireless, sports and media conglomerate.
Mr. Rogers, 75, one of Canada's wealthiest people, is undergoing treatment for an existing cardiac condition, his company Rogers Communications Inc. said Friday in a press release.
Mr. Rogers has handed the job as CEO to Alan Horn, chairman of the board at RCI, in what the company calls a temporary move. The company stated "the length of Mr. Rogers' leave will be determined by his overall health and medical progress."
But the appointment of an acting CEO signals the seriousness of Mr. Rogers's health condition. Trained as a lawyer, he has been a dominating and constant force in the company he founded in 1960 and has built into a fortune estimated at between $4.5-billion and $7-billion.
Mr. Rogers, the son of a radio pioneer who died at 38, has struggled for decades with heart-related medical problems and in 1992 underwent a quadruple bypass operation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
That was the one previous time when he temporarily surrendered his CEO role, handing it over to two executives, RCI then-chairman (and Mr. Rogers's stepfather) John Graham and vice-chairman Garfield Emerson.
He came back after the hiatus stronger than ever. But Mr. Rogers turned 75 in May, and has appeared frail in public appearances, relying on a wheelchair to get around.
His hospitalization comes at a time when his company is on a bit of a roll. While many companies are reeling from financial meltdown, RCI recently reported a strong third quarter, based on sales of the popular iPhone made by Apple Inc.
Mr. Rogers, who spent 45 years coping with massive debt loads in high-risk ventures, is in the unusual position of seeing RCI described as a safe harbour in the economic storm.
Mr. Horn, a trusted long-time executive, has been Mr. Rogers's hand-picked choice as a temporary CEO if he were to die or was unable to continue.
Mr. Horn would fill in until RCI's board could find a permanent successor.
Top contenders would be Nadir Mohamed, a recruit from rival Telus Inc. who has risen to CEO of the large communications group (including wireless), and Ted's son Edward, who runs the cable business.
Also in the mix is one of Ted's three daughters, Melinda, vice-president of strategy and development.
Edward has been designated as the member of the family trust who would serve in the role as controlling shareholder for the first two years after Ted's death.
The company, which also owns the Toronto Blue Jays and Rogers Centre, saw its stock shoot up as much as 410 per cent in the past five years, but it has fallen from its high of $52.20 last July. On Friday, Rogers class B shares closed down 76 cents to $34.99 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
