Troy Reeb exits Corus Entertainment as John Gossling takes over as sole CEO
Corus Entertainment has ousted its co-CEO Troy Reeb, just two days after the executive took centre stage at the Canadian broadcast group’s annual upfront presentation.
The Toronto-based company on Wednesday said John Gossling, formerly the co-CEO and chief financial officer, will assume the sole CEO role. He will retain the chief financial officer position on an interim basis.
Corus said the decision had been taken because it wants to “transition back to a single-CEO structure.” It added that Reeb had “decided to pursue opportunities outside of the company” after more than 25 years.
With Reeb’s exit, several Corus execs will take on expanded roles. Jennifer Abrams, senior VP of programming and multiplatform, has been promoted to senior VP of content and marketing.
Jennifer Lee, who serves as chief legal officer, chief administrative officer and corporate secretary, will take on more operational responsibilities, and continue to oversee regulatory and public affairs. Ward Smith, senior VP of news and audio, will continue to lead Corus’s new organisation, Global News, and the audio business. Smith will now report to Gossling.
Reeb’s departure is not surprising given how many other execs and staffers have left Corus over the past 18 months. However, the abruptness of the announcement has caught many off guard.
Reeb became co-CEO alongside Gossling last June when it was revealed that longtime CEO Doug Muphy was leaving.
Murphy’s exit came in the direct aftermath of Corus losing the trademark and licensing rights to several Warner Bros Discovery-owned brands including HGTV and Food Network. The loss of those rights caused Corus’s already ailing stock price to crater completely, as it lost the rights to its most-watched cable networks, HGTV Canada and Food Network Canada. Its stock price today is around 10 Canadian cents per share.
Over the past year, Reeb has played a key role in rebranding and relaunching HGTV Canada and Food Network Canada as Home Network and Flavour Network, respectively.
Corus is carrying more than C$1bn (US$730m) in debt and as it stands has no clear path to repaying it. However, the company has managed to buy itself some time by amending and extending its loan repayment terms on several occasions, most recently securing an extension until late October.
Reed has featured prominently in all of what Corus has done recently. At last month’s high-stakes regulatory hearing over the definition of Canadian content, Reeb was the focal point of Corus’s discussion with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
He was also front and centre at Corus’s upfront presentation on Monday, where the company revealed its pick-ups from the LA Screenings, including The Office spin-off The Paper, workplace comedy DMV and Dick Wolf procedural CIA.
A little over 48 hours later, his 25-year tenure at Corus has ended in abrupt fashion, raising more questions about the future of Corus’s business.
“We thank Troy for his leadership in news and audio and, in recent years, sales, programming and content and wish him well in his next chapter,” said Heather Shaw, non-executive chair of the board.
“It has been an honour to work with the best brands and the best people in the business. I have full confidence that Corus has a bright future under the leadership of John and the talented management team,” said Reeb.
