CGI to appoint BCE CEO George Cope to board of directors
Tech consultancy CGI will nominate George Cope to its board of directors on January 29, 2020, at its next annual general meeting of shareholders. Since 2008, Cope has been the CEO of BCE, which owns Bell Canada and Bell Media.
After nearly 12 years as CEO of Canada’s largest communications company, Cope will be retiring from the role in January. Mirko Bibic, BCE’s chief operating officer, will take over as head of the Montreal-based telecom and mass media giant.
Taking the reins of the firm in the midst of the financial crisis, Cope re-energized BCE with key investments into broadband, services, and content. He oversaw more than $15 billion in strategic investments and acquisitions, including brands such as CTV, Astral, The Source, Virgin Mobile, and Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (which the company co-owns with rival Rogers).
Cope also launched the Bell Let’s Talk initiative in 2010, the largest corporate commitment to Canadian mental health, and one of the most well-known (and successful) corporate social responsibility programs in the country.
Upon his retirement from BCE, Cope will be keeping busy with board-level assignments. The seasoned Canadian executive is slated to take over as chairman of BMO Financial Group in March 2020, replacing Robert Prichard, who has been the chairman of the bank since 2012.
Cope will also be joining the board of CGI, a Montreal-headquartered global management and technology consulting firm.
"We are honored that Mr. George Cope has agreed to join our Board of Directors," said CGI founder and executive chairman, Serge Godin. "As a highly respected visionary who has overseen Bell's transformation into Canada's communications growth leader, he will add tremendous value to CGI as we continue to expand our business globally for the benefit of our clients, professionals, and shareholders."
Cope joined Bell in 2006 as chief operating officer, having previously served as head of Telus Mobility. Before that, he ran Clearnet Communications until it was bought by Telus for $6.6 billion in 2000.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Ivey School of Business at Western University, and has received honorary doctorates from Western, the University of Windsor, Trent University, and Queen's University. Cope was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2014, and was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2018.
Earlier this year, CGI appointed Énergir CEO Sophie Brochu to its board of its directors, and last year added Kathy Waller, the former CFO of Coca-Cola.
