COMMENTARY: BY OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 8, 2019 — My point-of-view regarding a conclusion I reached some years ago that Leon R. Williams was arguably the most effective CEO of The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) in its history during his tenure as head of BTC may be considered by some of his detractors to be tainted by bias because Leon is a good friend that I got to know very well when I was Editor of the Freeport News and he was head of BTC in Grand Bahama.
However, my opinion in this regard surely is validated to some degree by the fact that Leon is held in such high esteem by communications leaders throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Clear evidence of this is reflected in a collage of photos Leon posted on his Facebook page of his participation in the Conecta Latam meetings held at the Mayfair Hotel & Spa in Miami, Florida, December 4 -5.
The photos were posted with the following caption: “I was privileged and honored to Chair the Two Day CONECTALATAM Telecommunications Conference this week in Miami. In attendance were a number of CEOs, CTOs, CSOs, VPs and Representatives which included Damian Blackburn, CEO ALIV and his Team; Gary Sinclair, CEO BTC; Ivan CEO DIGICEL/BTL Belize and Team; CTO TMobile; CEO Towers; Giovanni King Regulator ‘Curacao; CSO Dominicanna, Dominican Republic; CEO Coverlogic; Representative from 5G AMERICAS; Representatives from GSMA; AMDOCS; CTO TELEM St Marteen; GTT Guyana; Representative SPRINT; Flavia Lima; Representative from HBO LATAM; Representatives from Cable & Wireless & Liberty LATAM.”
According to information gleaned from the Internet, “Conecta Latam is a specialist in creating industry-leading meetings in Latin America. We are passionate about Latin America and our purpose is facilitating knowledge and networking for executives in the whole region. Attending Conecta events will help you with new business opportunities and partnerships for you and your company. This meeting will highly focus on content, meeting place for decision-makers, dynamic networking activities, regional focus and etc.”
Exactly why Leon Williams was “forced into retirement” as CEO of BTC was never made clear, although readers of the Nassau Guardian were provided with enough information on his tenure at BTC in a July 12, 2017, article to reach their own conclusion as to why he and BTC parted company.
The lead paragraph of that article was brief and to the point: “The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) yesterday announced that CEO Leon Williams will be leaving the business.”
“To ensure our success continues unabated in the future, we are making changes at the executive level in The Bahamas, and Leon Williams will be leaving the business,” the company said in an internal communiqué to employees, according to The Guardian. “We will appoint two key leadership positions: Dexter Cartwright will now assume the role of interim CEO, while Andre Foster will join BTC as chief operating officer.”
Noting that it was “not clear when Williams will be departing the company,” the Guardian’s article added: “Williams was appointed CEO of BTC back in June 2014. He was hired on a 12-month contract at the time.”
Continuing, the article stated: “In April 2011, the Ingraham administration sold a 51 percent stake of BTC to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC), which is now headed by BTC Chairman Phil Bentley.
“Upon coming to office in 2012, former Prime Minister Perry Christie appointed Williams on a committee to negotiate a two percent take-back of the shares in BTC on behalf of the Bahamian people.
“Williams was previously fired as CEO of BTC in 2008. At the time, BTC was fully owned by the government.
“After the firing, then chairman of BTC Julian Francis said it was not in BTC’s best interest for Williams to continue to serve in the top post.
“In 2011, BTC reached a settlement with Williams, who had taken legal action against the company.
“Williams’ termination was an issue of great public interest and angered people who supported his work in telecommunications.
“In a statement to the press yesterday, Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) CEO John Reid thanked Williams for his dedication and commitment to CWC and BTC.”
Reid was quoted as saying: “Leon is leaving the company in solid shape and has laid a foundation for continued success as the leading telecommunications service provider in The Bahamas. We will continue to work closely with the people and government of The Bahamas as we give greater focus to our new growth plans for the country, ensuring we best meet the needs of our customers, as well as contribute to the growth of The Bahamas.”
Here’s a question that begs an answer: If Leon Williams left BTC in “solid shape” and “laid a foundation for continued success as the leading telecommunications provider in The Bahamas,” why was he forced to leave?
