Darren Entwistle, the CEO who transformed Telus (TSX:T) from a regional telco to a national communications giant, was feted Thursday by the Fraser Institute.
At a $500-per-plate dinner at the Vancouver Convention Centre attended by roughly 450 business leaders, Entwistle received the institute’s T. Patrick Boyle founder’s award.
The award recognizes Entwistle’s transformation of a 117-year-old regional utility into B.C.’s largest public company. It also recognized the Vancouver-headquartered company’s philanthropic efforts – valued at $245 million since 2000.
Retired general Rick Hillier, who chairs one of Telus’s 11 community charity boards, said the company’s success was a direct result of Entwistle’s vision and leadership.
“What a leader like Darren focuses on, everyone else in the organization will focus on,” he said.
When Entwistle assumed the company’s helm in 2000 at the age of 37, the future was not so friendly. In 2000 – in the wake of the dot-com crash – and again in 2009 – following a major recession – Entwistle ignored conventional thinking and invested heavily in wireless and data services.
“Circumstances at the turn of the millennium indicated that smartphones were the exclusive domain of business people, the Internet was just for geeks, and Canada’s geography was just too enormous to be bridged by any technology company,” said Entwistle, who has taken Telus shares instead of a salary in 2010 and 2011.
Wireless and data services now make up three-quarters of Telus’ revenue. The company which has a $17 billion market cap, employs 39,000 people and has had a shareholder return of 139% since 2000.
Telus invested $1.8 billion in Canada this year, including $670 million in B.C. to expand its fibre optics cable and Optik TV service.
In addition to investing in innovation, Telus has also invested in communities through 11 community boards, which has funnelled $30 million into 2,300 grasssroots organizations since 2005. As a result, Telus became the first Canadian company to receive the Association of Professional Fundraiser’s philanthropic service award in 2010.
In his speech, Entwistle’s greatest enthusiasm was for the opportunities he sees technology playing in improving health care in Canada by reducing costs and improving the access and sharing of medical information.
Telus has created a web portal called Upopolis for children undergoing cancer treatment, and partnered with the David Foster Foundation to create a social media site called Be A Donor to encourage Canadians to sign onto an organ donor registry. It has also been investing in and evangelizing for digital medical record keeping.
Its latest eHealth project is Health Space, a web portal that will allow Canadians to securely access and share and their medical information with doctors and family.
Nelson Bennett
@nbennett_biv