Phil Bentley, chief executive officer of Cable & Wireless, with new BTC CEO Leon Williams yesterday.
By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
PHIL BENTLEY, Chief Executive Officer of Cable & Wireless Communications, says yesterday’s decision to appoint Leon Williams, a Bahamian, as the new CEO of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) was made without government interference.
Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd, announced that not only would Geoff Houston, who served for the last three years, step down as CEO, but that Mr Williams was chosen to be his successor from June 30.
Mr Williams was previously CEO of BaTelCo – BTC in its former publicly owned guise – but was fired by the FNM administration six years ago and subsequently filed a suit against the government. In 2011, he and the government reached an out-of-court settlement over the matter.
Before he leaves BTC’s operations on August 31, Mr Houston will be available as an advisor to Mr Williams. Mr Houston has served Cable & Wireless, controlling shareholder of BTC, for the last 22 years. His role as CEO took effect shortly after BTC was privatised in 2011.
The announcement confirmed concerns raised by FNM Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner more than a month ago that the CEO post at BTC would be given to Mr Williams. BTC officials denied the claims then while political pundits criticised Mrs Butler-Turner as an alarmist. She remained adamant that Mr Williams was not equipped to lead BTC at a time when the telecommunications sector in The Bahamas was liberalised.
Responding to questions about that from The Tribune Mr Bentley said the decision to appoint a new CEO was made yesterday around the conference room table by its board of directors at BTC’s head office at John F Kennedy Drive.
“There was a lot of speculation in the press,” Mr Bentley said, “a lot of it was misguided and a lot of comments had been quite hurtful, particularly to Leon. Let me just say categorically that this was a decision that I have taken. I had been under no pressure whatsoever from the BTC board.
“I have been under no pressure whatsoever from the Prime Minister. Quite the opposite. I have gone to him for advice from time to time and have sought the advice of the BTC board. But this was my decision and I think it is the right decision. As I said I wanted someone who understands technology and understands the Bahamian people. I can’t think of a better person who meets both of those requirements.
“Leon Williams obviously is a telephony engineer. Someone who knows the business well and also we wanted to ensure that we have a representative of the company today and for the future who is Bahamian. We recognise that we are here to serve the Bahamian people and we wanted to ensure that we had a leader who could win the hearts and minds of the Bahamian people as we move into the competitive market.”
Mr Williams, who was terminated from BTC in 2008 by the previous Ingraham administration, called the new appointment not only an historic move, but he said it was an “uncommon blessing”. He expressed gratitude to Mr Bentley, his church, family and friends for their support. He said there was a lot of work to be done in the months to come.
He said: “I don’t know if Phil recognised that he is making history here in The Bahamas. I would have been the last confirmed Bahamian CEO prior to privatisation and now I am the first confirmed CEO of BTC after privatising. We have got a lot of work to do to prepare this company for competition – and not just competition – but we really need to be able to prepare the company to serve customers.
“I would be assured that Phil would support me in this commitment. We really want to be able to serve our customers. I think profit is to be defined as applause of the customers saying a job well done and so I am looking for the support of the public as we go to the public to say to them BTC is being run by Bahamians. It is a Bahamian company, 51 per cent economically owned by Bahamians and stay with us. We will get you through the tough times.”
Mr Houston, who was absent from yesterday’s announcement, was quoted in a press statement as saying he was proud of all that BTC had accomplished over the years.
“BTC has developed significantly over the past three years. We have transformed our technology, improved our retail and customer experience and, most importantly, changed many of our internal processes to make BTC more customer-focused.
The last financial year was a record year of profitability for BTC, reflecting the strenuous efforts made to become a more efficient organisation while passing on significant price reductions to our customers. I would like to thank my hardworking colleagues at BTC who have done so much to get us to this position, and to our customers for their support,” Mr Houston said.
Looking to the future, Mr Bentley said BTC plans to invest around $200 million over the next three years to make much needed improvements to the product, especially at a time when the issuing of a second telecommunications licence is imminent.
Comments
GrassRoot 10 years, 6 months ago
Another person that believes he is of historical proportions? we have enough of them already. humble up and go to work. history is always written by all others.
DillyTree 10 years, 6 months ago
Without government interference? Seriously, who the hell beleives that?
At this point, I really don't care who's in charge -- all I want is for my phone to work....consistently.
jlcandu 10 years, 6 months ago
Dilly Tree,
The service cannot get any better when the likes of Mr. Williams will be heading the company.
I predict in short order there will be a massive hiring back of the old "Batelco" guard, and a return to snarky employees and poor service will once again be the order of the day. And now that Cable Bahamas will be charging more for long distance calls (since URCA is allowing this to happen), we still don't have any choice in receiving decent telephone service.
God help us all!!!
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 6 months ago
Exactly. This is mind boggling, if anyone doubts the direction in which this administration is leading the country listen well, Full sails BACKWARD
Tarzan 10 years, 6 months ago
There is only one way you will ever get your phone to work. That is for the government to stop stalling and to open the local market to competitors for the now incumbent carrier. All this stalling by the P.M. about his hands being tied is simply nonsense. This sounds to me like a monopolist making a deal with a corrupt political system. Bill to be paid by the general public. The very second there is meaningful competition, prices will go down and service will improve and not a second earlier.
Publius 10 years, 6 months ago
True. Bring in reputable competition - simple.
EasternGate 10 years, 6 months ago
I wonder if the Bahamian people realize how dangerous this government is. Every Bahamian knows that the PM forced Bentley to appoint Leon. One bunch of Gangsters!
Well_mudda_take_sic 10 years, 6 months ago
Phil Bentley and Cable & Wireless have made a huge mistake here and will quickly come to regret kowtowing to Perry Christie and the likes of Frankie Wilson aka Snake. But this attempt by Christie to distract the public's attention away from the proposed VAT and legalization of the illegal operations of the numbers' bosses should fail given the gravity of these far more important matters at hand.
Perry Christie’s defiance of the will of the Bahamian people as expressed in a duly held referendum that he himself instigated speaks volumes about his extreme arrogance, his servile deference to the numbers' bosses and his utter disrespect for the democratic processes that form the very foundation of our country’s parliamentary democracy as enshrined in its constitution.
Just yesterday, Eric Cantor (R-VA), House Majority Leader in the U.S. Congress, was defeated in a primary election in which there was a very low voter turnout. Consistent with the democratic processes to be respected, Mr. Cantor gracefully accepted the outcome of the election results. Under no circumstance would Mr. Cantor foolishly and arrogantly attempt to argue that his defeat in the election should be ignored because the voice of the electorate had not been heard as a result of the very low voter turnout. By contrast, Perry Christie has done just that with respect to the outcome of the web shop referendum that he himself instigated at great cost to our Public Treasury. Christie has defiantly ignored the voice of the Bahamian people as expressed in the referendum thereby utterly disrespecting our democratic processes; he has gravely violated the very rule of law of our parliamentary democracy that he, as PM, is sworn to uphold for all of the Bahamian people. Christie fails to recognise and accept that the referendum's outcome was determined by those who voted and not by the number of voters who chose not to cast a vote; our democratic processes allow for eligible voters to choose whether or not to exercise their constitutional right to vote and do not require a registered voter to vote. In other words, a low voter turnout does not determine the outcome of a duly held referendum in our constitutional democracy. Mr. Roker and many others of us are completely justified in calling for Christie's resignation and the resignation of all his cabinet members because Christie has, by disrespecting and ignoring the outcome of the referendum, effectively forfeited his right to govern the Bahamian people. Amazingly and very sadly, certain of the constitutional experts in our country (like Sean McWeeney) have chosen to remain silent on this most important matter. Christie no longer understands or appreciates that the rule of law and the will of the people are sacrosanct.
jlcandu 10 years, 6 months ago
Well said, Well_mudda-take-sic
I said it before and it bears repeating -- if the other PLP's in the House had any scruples, they would get together with the Opposition and have a vote of "No Confidence" for the PM. Sure, there isn't anyone better than Christie, but at least he could be forced out as leader. I would think that more level heads would prevail in trying to recoup the government and progress in a different direction that where we are headed now -- into an economic abyss!!!!
The older Christie gets, the more insane he becomes about his "power" as PM. Unfortunately the majority of the House members are kissing his backside so that they can keep raping the Treasury under his nose.
It is unfortunate in this country that politicians don't know when to retire or bow out of politics until they embarrass themselves in plain sight. The system here is broken and sadly no one is willing to fix it.
Cobalt 10 years, 6 months ago
It's amazing how time always tells the truth. Perry Christies and the PLP denied this story when it was initially brought to the attention of the Bahamian public by LBT. But as it turns out... he was just telling another classic, old fashion, blatant, PLP lie. We all knew he was lying when he tried to justify his motives for perusing "buy-back" interest in BTC. All of his so called negotiations, time, and money spent, were conducted mainly to return Leon Williams to BTC. I often wonder when the Bahamian people are going to tire of being donkeys for the government. Do we even realize that we're entitled to more???
sheeprunner12 10 years, 6 months ago
Again................. the US party system doesnot gel well with our Westminster system but there are some good practices that we can adopt ............... political grace and respect for former political leaders for starters.
Leon Williams......... Snake ............. Perry ..................... an unholy Trinity
DillyTree 10 years, 6 months ago
Yup, back to the old coconut telegraph.
Publius 10 years, 6 months ago
Who cares? The guy is a CEO on contract for 12 months. meaning this is a "give these Bahamian government clowns this carrot so they can get out of our hair." Moving on to important matters in the country. This is yet another distraction tactic by the government and true to form, leaders in the FNM are chasing behind this distraction instead of staying focused on the issues that matter to us all
sheeprunner12 10 years, 6 months ago
This is not a trivial matter or a distraction ............. this is the insidious work of a corrupt government. Leon Williams was the CEO when the PLP was about to execute the "Blue Water" sell-off deal............. and then there was the so-called BaTelCo upgrades during the PLP 2002-07 term that happened amidst the excessive spending spree and debt build-up
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 6 months ago
Yep, and exactly why was he dismissed the first time?
Publius 10 years, 6 months ago
I know what he was when the government owned and operated BTC. CWC now operates BTC. If they want to have someone corrupt on contract on their team for a year that is their problem. Remember, Leon Williams does not run BTC, Cable and Wireless does.
SP 10 years, 6 months ago
You red shirts are still smarting from the last election. You don't want a proven qualified Bahamian to fill the post but any dumb white foreigner is just dandy?
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 6 months ago
Proven to be what? Why was he dismissed the first time?
SP 10 years, 6 months ago
He was undoubtedly proven to run BTC 100% BETTER than the dumb white foreigners that you slave mentality FNM supporters insist on bowing down to!
There were NO dropped calls or complete loss's of nationwide telecoms blackouts prior to BTC being sold to C&W.
Mr. Williams was fired by Hubert Ingraham because of his PLP affiliations.
Hubert couldn't risk having someone around with enough inside hands on knowledge to sensibly dispute his dumber than stupid dumb decision to sell BTC, a "strategic state asset" to a company known for screw-ups for less than a fire sale price which equates to less than 40% of the actual value.
After Hubert was caught practicing ass, he tried to recant the deal but was too dumb in the first instance to insure there were any out clauses and performance clauses in the deal!
If ANY BLACK GROUP had bought BTC from the PLP under the same circumstances and price and produced the exact same bad service......You slave mentality FNM red shirts would be rioting in the streets!
Both PLP & FNM suck in my book.
However bringing Williams back is a common sense and best decision that could have been made under ANY circumstances.
Welcome back Mr. Leon Williams.
DillyTree 10 years, 6 months ago
It amuses me when people talk about the FNM slave mentality, as that is exactly how I think of the PLP and their blind followers. Let's talk about a slave mentality:
Massa looks after the slaves. They work for massa and don't get ahead, except for the few favoured slaves. Whenever they need anything, the slaves look to massa to feed, clothe, house and look after them.
Now, insert the word "government" in place of massa and read the sentence again. Sound familiar?
Cobalt 10 years, 6 months ago
Dumb, white foreigners??? Slave mentality??? ANY BLACK GROUP??? Although you make some valid observations, parts of your blog seem to be nothing more than a racist rant predicated upon some misplaced sense of inferiority. Yes, Hubert Ingraham and the FNM have done irreversible damage to Betelco by allowing foreigners to acquire majority interest in it. HAI made it very clear that Bahamians didn't matter in his book. But at the same time... Perry and the PLP are no better. Don't make it a black or white thing. These politicians are crooking us all. Perry would have sold BTC just as easily as Hubert...... the same way that the FNM was about to introduce VAT, yet now they oppose it. Both parties play politics at the expense of the Bahamian people. As far as the Bahamas goes, the only fundamental question Bahamians need to be asking themselves is, "do you wish to be robbed by a foreigner, or by one of your own fellow Bahamians?" Because either way, you're being robbed.
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