Source: CBC

Happy Holidays

Before I wish you all a very happy holiday season, I wanted to fill you in on a few things since my last note after the Board meeting in November. We’ve been busy, but good things have been happening.

Sale of assets

Well, we did it.

After 10 months of strategizing, negotiating with different Ministers, government officials and departments, working on documentation with lawyers and bankers, we sold the Ontrea receivables on Thursday last week. You’ll remember from my previous notes that these receivables represent the price (owed to us in yearly instalments until 2027) of land which we sold around the Toronto Broadcast Center in 2003. We are extremely pleased with the proceeds of this sale which netted us approximately $133 million, thereby exceeding our original forecast by a few million dollars.

We expect to receive the proceeds on Wednesday as we work on closing details.

I did not like the idea of "selling furniture to keep the house" and of foregoing future revenue to solve an immediate cash flow problem. But, forced to go there, we did a great job maximizing the value of the Ontrea receivables. This was a very important piece of the strategy towards balancing our budget at March 31, 2010. So, many thanks to the team who lead this marathon transaction, with a very special mention to Bill Atkinson, Ted Field, Mike Mooney, Suzanne Morris, Francois Lachaîne and Michel Tremblay. Well done!

We are very pleased that as a result of this divestiture, we did not have to touch our real estate.

Our ad revenues are holding and are still in line with initial projections, although revenues are below those of previous years, of course. So, we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel . . . and I’m pretty sure that it’s not the train coming!

Changes at SET

Big News: George Smith, senior vice-president, corporate priorities and implementation, has informed me that he will take his retirement from the Corporation on April 1, 2010. In his almost 14 years with the Corporation, George has been at the centre of much of the change that we have gone through. Three consecutive president and CEOs have relied on him for clear-eyed strategic advice, blunt feedback and honest and constructive leadership counsel. He has overseen the modernization of our human resource function and the transformation of our relations with our unions. Most recently, he has successfully spearheaded the reorganization of the real estate and the information technology sectors. Spectacular contribution! We will find an appropriate way to recognize George at a date closer to his departure.

Reporting relationships for George’s current reports, Marc Denoncourt, executive director, information technology and John Lee, now executive director, media services will be reassigned as follows: Marc will report to Suzanne Morris, our chief financial officer, and John to Steven Guiton, our chief regulatory officer.

With George’s departure, our senior executive team will now be composed of eight members down from 11 at the beginning of the year.

I should also tell you that I have promoted Steven Guiton to the vice-president level effective January 1, 2010. His work with the CRTC over the last months and his leadership in various other regulatory matters made this decision very easy for me. Steven had joined the SET in June 2009. Please join me in congratulating Steven for a well-deserved promotion and his new responsibilities.

CRTC hearing up-date

Talking about Steven, he and I appeared before the CRTC on Tuesday, December 8 in the context of hearings on the consumer impact of proposed changes that would see conventional broadcasters receive compensation for carriage of our signals from cable and satellite providers. We were joined (in a rare show of solidarity) by the CEO’s and regulatory chiefs of CTV and Global. You can find more about our appearance here.

Renewal of the SCRC collective agreement

I’m happy to report that on Thursday, December 10, the SCRC and CBC/Radio-Canada signed a new collective agreement that will last for the next three and a half years.

Now that we have renewed our collective agreements with all of our unions, we must continue building on our relationships, every single day. That’s how we will transform CBC/Radio-Canada. I realize the magnitude of this challenge, but it is greatly facilitated by the commitment that I feel and see from all parties involved to make it happen.

President’s Awards

As you know, I launched the President’s Awards in late November. We are currently receiving nominations. Have you nominated a colleague yet? If not, the deadline is January 29, 2010. Take a look here for more information. This is an opportunity to celebrate our achievements and recognize your contributions. Let’s do it!

Strategy 2015

As we were going through 2009 (one of our toughest years ever), it became clear to me that CBC/Radio-Canada needed to set its sights on a long-term strategy to adapt to the continuing changes in our industry and the developing technology, while ensuring that this overarching corporate strategy is aligned with the ones being implemented by each of our components (media lines, real estate, finance, etc.).

So, over the next six months, Michel Tremblay, senior vice-president corporate strategy and business partnerships and Francine Letourneau, my chief of staff, will lead the development of a long-term strategic plan with an horizon of 2015; we will call this initiative "Driving towards 2015". You’re going to hear a lot about this initiative because it’s a key priority for our SET and for me. In addition to Michel and Francine, the steering committee for this project will be composed of Sylvain Lafrance, Richard Stursberg and myself. A working committee of key CBC players will be set up in January, with the media lines being represented by Christine Wilson, Marie-Philippe Bouchard, and others to be named later.

We will be supported by Bain & Company (yes, we are using consultants to help us do this); Bain won this project hands down: we liked their business, industry-specific and practical knowledge and expertise as they worked with the BBC on their .com strategy, and with France Télévisions and different American commercial TV broadcasters and radio companies on their respective strategic directions. CBC/Radio-Canada is a world-class player and I want to be able to benchmark CBC/Radio-Canada against the best in public and private broadcasting.

We intend to interview and involve many executives in our company and to use the Leaders Forum for more feedback. We will also be working closely with the Strategic Committee of our Board of Directors to get their input as this Committee will eventually have to make a recommendation to the whole Board to approve our finish product.

Listening tour

I was in Victoria and Vancouver earlier this month. I delivered a couple of speeches, and attended our open house and the 23rd annual Food Bank Day at our newly renovated, state-of-the-art broadcast centre. It was a great day and I’ve been told that over 6,000 people toured the facility, and more than $542,000 was donated for distribution to food banks across B.C. Many thanks to everyone who helped make this event a success. You can read more about it here.

End of year

In what’s becoming a bit of a holiday tradition for me, I’ll be spending some time with our CBCers in Matane while there on vacation to see my in-laws. It will be my way to slow down a bit and only focus for a few days on my spouse, her parents, and my daughter who is now 21 months old and already runs our household!

Before I go, I want to thank you for all that you’ve done this past year for our Corporation. This year has been tough on all of us. But we’ve managed to pull through it together, and we’re still standing, and standing proud. Thank you, thank you very much.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season to you and your families. May 2010 keep you in great health and bring you peace in your heart. Rest up. I’ll talk to you in the New Year.

Cheers,

Hubert

© CBC