Carla Smits-Nusteling
Royal KPN NV
Royal KPN NV, the largest Dutch phone company, said Chief Financial Officer Carla Smits-Nusteling stepped down because of disagreements over a new management structure that took effect this week and will be replaced by two interim CFOs.
Royal KPN NV, the largest Dutch phone company, said Chief Financial Officer Carla Smits-Nusteling stepped down because of disagreements over a new management structure that took effect this week and will be replaced by two interim CFOs. Source: Royal KPN NV
A Royal KPN Van Sits Outside The Company’s Headquarters
KPN via Bloomberg
Royal KPN NV, the largest Dutch phone company, said Chief Financial Officer Carla Smits-Nusteling stepped down because of disagreements over a new management structure that took effect this week and will be replaced by two interim CFOs.
Royal KPN NV, the largest Dutch phone company, said Chief Financial Officer Carla Smits-Nusteling stepped down because of disagreements over a new management structure that took effect this week and will be replaced by two interim CFOs. Source: KPN via Bloomberg
Royal KPN NV (KPN), the largest Dutch phone
company, said Chief Financial Officer Carla Smits-Nusteling has
stepped down because of disagreements about governance, the
second departure of a board member in two months.
Eric Hageman, KPN’s head for Belgium, and Steven van Schilfgaarde, chief of the Dutch corporate business, will become
interim CFOs with immediate effect, the Hague-based operator
said in a statement today, adding that it’s looking for a
permanent replacement as soon as possible. Smits-Nusteling, 45,
will leave April 1. In November, KPN said that another board
member, Baptiest Coopmans, will also leave on April 1.
Under the new executive structure, announced in May,
management board members meet directly with unit chiefs on
matters that concern their respective business in an executive
committee, said Stefan Simons, a KPN spokesman. The changes,
which took effect this year, allow for more direct control and
decision-making than the previous procedure, where various unit
boards reported to the management board, he said.
“A further change in senior management at KPN will be
greeted with some nervousness,” Stuart Gordon, an analyst (KPN) at
Berenberg Bank, wrote in a note to clients. “We expect that
there will be speculation that the CFO is leaving either because
there could be another profit warning in the pipeline or that
there was discord on the financial direction of the company, in
particular short-term leverage.”
Shares Decline
KPN fell as much as 4 percent in Amsterdam trading, the
biggest intraday drop since October. The shares traded 3 percent
lower at 9.04 euros as of 12:06 p.m.
Smits-Nusteling “has informed the supervisory board that
she has ultimately come to the conclusion that she does not
agree with the internal governance of the company in the new
executive structure,” KPN said in the statement. Simons
declined to specify the nature of the disagreement with Smits-
Nusteling.
The outgoing CFO, a former TNT NV executive, took the
position in September 2009. Under her watch, KPN increased its
dividend and stepped up share buybacks. On Nov. 1, KPN said that
another board member, Baptiest Coopmans, will leave the company
on April 1.
“I find it a bit late to claim that she only found out now
that the changes aren’t exactly what she wants them to be,”
said Frederic van Daele, an analyst at Kempen Co. in
Amsterdam. “Maybe she wasn’t content how decision-making has
been spread out with the introduction of the committee,” he
said, adding that Hageman is a probable candidate to become
permanent CFO.
Cut Forecast
Forty-one-year-old Hageman, who took charge of the Belgian
division in June, will be responsible for investor relations,
mergers and acquisitions, fiscal affairs and treasury. Van
Schilfgaarde, 47, who has worked as CFO for KPN’s fixed-line
business and Getronics information-technology operations, will
be responsible for control and reporting, accounting and
security.
“As a team, we will be able to head the different segments
decisively and efficiently, enabling us to act on changing
market dynamics and customer demands,” Chief Executive Officer
Eelco Blok said in today’s statement.
Blok cut KPN’s 2011 earnings forecast in April, the month
he started as CEO, citing a switch in consumer communication
habits and increasing use of mobile and social-media
applications. He also began a restructuring plan that will
eliminate 4,000 to 5,000 jobs in the Netherlands through 2015.
“The statement raises more questions than it answers,”
Jos Versteeg, an Amsterdam-based analyst at Theodoor Gilissen
Bankiers NV wrote in a note to clients. “We are unpleasantly
surprised by the press release, but maintain our buy
recommendation on KPN because of its attractive dividend
return.”
To contact the reporter on this story:
Cornelius Rahn in Frankfurt at
crahn2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Kenneth Wong at
kwong11@bloomberg.net
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