Bell Media president Wade Oosterman to retire, to be replaced by Sean Cohan

MONTREAL –

Bell Media says its president Wade Oosterman, who additionally serves as vice-chair of mother or father firm BCE Inc., is ready to retire on the finish of the 12 months, to get replaced by Sean Cohan, who’s becoming a member of the corporate in November.

In a press launch, the corporate says Cohan will be part of the BCE management staff on Nov. 1, whereas Oosterman will stay in his function till January 2024 to make sure a clean transition.

In a press release, BCE president and CEO Mirko Bibic thanked Oosterman for his “leadership in making Bell a strong competitor in Canadian communications and media,” together with having performed a key function within the transformation of Bell Media.

Earlier this 12 months, BCE introduced it was closing or promoting 9 radio stations as the corporate deliberate to “significantly adapt” the way it delivers the news and minimize 1,300 positions — together with a six per cent discount at Bell Media.

Oosterman mentioned in a memo to workers on the time that Bell Media faces “strong economic and inflationary pressures, a pullback in advertisers’ budgets, and a challenging regulatory environment that has been too slow to adjust.”

Cohan, who can even function an govt officer to BCE, spent 15 years at A+E Networks together with as president of worldwide and digital media, and most lately was chief development officer and president at Nielsen, a world measurement and information analytics firm.

BCE is the mother or father firm of CTV News by its Bell Media division.

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Oct. 3, 2023.