Two VPs at Bell Media are out after BCE’s Astral Media purchase.
Vice-president of brand partnerships Mary Kreuk and vice-president of research Robert Dilworth, both longtime executives with the company, have been affected by cuts at the executive level.
Kreuk left earlier this week, and Dilworth will be leaving shortly.
“As Bell Media’s new leadership team continues to organize their new combined structure, we have made some reductions in the number of executive positions at both Bell Media and Astral, in both Toronto and Montreal,” Scott Henderson, vice-president of communications at Bell Media, told Marketing.
Kreuk started at Bell (then CTV) in 2001 as vice-president of customer marketing. When Bell Media made Marketing‘s 2012 Media Player of the Year shortlist, Kreuk commented that the company’s integrated sales unit usually produces more than 150 advertising campaigns a year, and was seeing double-digit year-over-year sales growth.
Derev Antikacioglu, Astral Media’s corporate branding and marketing director, was also let go as part of the reductions. As first reported in Carrt.ca, so were Heather Senst, VP and creative director, Astral Television Networks; Claude Laflamme, VP, corporate and regulatory affairs, Astral Radio; Glenn Chalmers, VP of local sales, Western Canada, Astral Radio; and Rob Farina, EVP, content and platforms, Astral Radio.
At Bell Media, Neil Staite, vice-president and general manager, music and entertainment, and Jim Fealy, VP, finance, radio and capital were also let go as part of the significant staffing changes.
Following an initial failed bid, Astral Media officially joined with Bell Media last Friday in a $3.2-billion acquisition. The purchase sees Bell pick up eight specialty and pay TV services, two over-the-air TV stations, Astral’s OOH advertising division and 77 radio stations.
On the same day, a new executive leadership team was revealed. SVP of advertising sales Rita Fabian will be leaving the company in the fall. She had been with Bell and CTV since 1986. Luc Sabbatini was appointed president of Bell Media sales.
