"We welcome Mirko Bibic (pictured) as our new chief executive as he leads Bell in delivering all the benefits of the digital communications future to Canadians," said Gordon Nixon, chair of the board for BCE and Bell Canada. "A key leader in every part of Bell's transformation into Canada's driver of communications innovation, Mirko has the vision, skills and experience to build on Bell's strengths as the country's leading communications company and deliver value for all our stakeholders."
Bibic’s appointment follows the retirement of George Cope as president and CEO of BCE and Bell earlier this month. Cope stepped away from his post after almost 12 years as CEO and 14 years total with Bell.
"The time is right for Mirko to take our company to the next level," added Cope. "He has been front and centre in the successful execution of Bell's broadband leadership strategy from its beginning. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Mirko through the transition to his new role and will be proud to pass the leadership of Bell to him in 2020 as the 14th chief executive of our company since its founding in 1880."
At the time of his appointment Bibic also announced a newly restructured executive leadership team at Bell.
"I'm proud to welcome Claire Gillies and Karine Moses to the Bell executive team and announce new roles for current executives Blaik Kirby and John Watson," said Bibic. "These seasoned leaders will all bring their dedication, proven skills and deep experience across multiple Bell business units to leading the execution of our growth strategy."
Blaik Kirby has been named group president of mobility, residential and small business. Previously president of Bell Mobility, Kirby has held a range of senior marketing and executive positions since joining Bell in 2005 as vice president of corporate strategy.
Claire Gillies has been promoted to president of Bell Mobility. Previously senior vice president of retail, Gillies joined Bell in 2000 and has served in senior roles across marketing, sales and channel management, including as president of Bell subsidiary The Source.
Karine Moses has been appoint to vice chair of Québec as well as continuing in her role as president of Bell Media Québec. Moses joined Bell in 1997 and has held senior leadership positions across Bell's network, field services and media groups. She succeeds retiring vice chair of Québec Martine Turcotte.
And lastly, John Watson has become group president of customer experience. In this role, Watson will continue to lead all customer service and support operations in the execution of Bell's Champion Customer Experience imperative. Previously Executive vice president of customer operations, Watson joined Bell in 2010 as senior vice president of operations.
