…as power struggle deepens at state media entity
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN), Lennox Cornette, has reportedly tendered his resignation from the entity as a rift and internal power struggle for total control deepens.
Cornette’s resignation has been accepted by the Board’s Chairman, Enrico Woolford, and will take effect on March 15, 2018. He is expected to proceed on accumulated leave sometime during January next year.
This newspaper understands that the Board had continuously voiced concerns over Cornette’s leadership style and inability to implement decisions in a timely and effective manner. It had also related concerns over the management of key internal departments which were still bleeding the company’s finances.
“There is also a lot of power rifts and fighting between Mr Woolford and Mr Cornette for control. They hardly agree. In the end the employees suffer, and the company was not achieving its objectives. The Prime Minister is aware of the concerns of the Board, and Cornette, too, has had his ear,” a senior manager at the company revealed yesterday.
Cornette’s resignation also comes at a time when his contract is nearing an end.
“He knows that it will not be renewed by any board which Mr Woolford heads, so he basically bit the bullet,” the manager related.
Cornette’s suitability for the top post came in for questioning after he was selected ahead of several more suitably qualified individuals, including Woolford. He replaced Molly Hassan, who served as the entity’s last CEO under the former PPP Government. She, too, resigned, citing concerns about the manner in which she was being treated following the change of Government back in 2015.
