George A. Cope

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George A. Cope
Born (1961-07-28) 28 July 1961 (age 64)
Scarborough, Ontario
Education University of Western Ontario (BBA, 1984)

George Alexander Cope CM (born 28 July 1961) is a Canadian businessman, and the former CEO of Bell Canada.

Contents

Early life and education

Cope was born in Scarborough, Ontario and grew up in Port Perry. [1] Cope's father played for a short time for the Toronto Argonauts, after which he ran gas stations and rustproofing shops. Cope's mother ran a store that sold fabrics. [1] Cope attended Port Perry High School [1] and played on the high school's basketball team and was also student council president. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with honours in 1984 from the Ivey Business School at Western University. [2]

Career

Cope was named CEO of Bell[ citation needed ] at the age of 53 as part of a proposed thirty five billion dollar leveraged buyout led by Providence Equity and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund in 2008. [3] Due to the credit crunch and the 2008 financial crisis, the buyout was cancelled. He led a competitor, Telus Mobility, before becoming President at Bell in 2005. He previously ran Clearnet, a wireless company that was bought by Telus in 2000. [3]

In 2010, Cope led the launch of the Bell Let's Talk Initiative, [4] a major corporate campaign to improve mental health in Canada, for which he received The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.[ citation needed ]

In June 2019, BCE announced Cope will retire in January 2020, at which point COO Mirko Bibic will become CEO. [5] Over the past 10 years, under Cope's leadership, company profits tripled to $3.05 billion. [6]

Community involvement

Cope sits on the board of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) and was instrumental in the firing of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke after BCE acquired MLSE. [7] As of 2015, Cope is also a member of the Richard Ivey School of Business Advisory Board at Western University and a member of the Business Council of Canada. [2]

Recognition

In 2014, George Cope was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for his leadership in corporate social responsibility, particularly in the area of mental health, and for his contributions to the telecommunications industry [8] . He was named Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year in 2015 [9] and was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2018 [10] . He received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "George Cope: 'Really loves to win'". The Star. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 "BCE's George Cope named Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year". The Financial Post. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 "The wireless guy: How BCE's George Cope cut the cord at Bell". The Financial Post. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "Bell CEO Launches $50 Million Mental Health Initiative". The Globe and Mail. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "CEO George Cope to retire as head of BCE". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  6. ↑ Investing (28 June 2019). "George Cope to retire as president and CEO of BCE in January 2020 | Financial Post" . Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  7. ↑ "Brian Burke fired: Decision by Toronto Maple Leafs' new suits lacked class: Cox | The Star". Toronto Star .
  8. ↑ "Mr. George Cope". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "George Cope – Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year 2015". Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  10. ↑ "Honourees". Canadian Business Hall of Fame. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  11. ↑ "Mr. George Cope". Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 30 September 2025.


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