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NCN’s chief resigns suddenly
Months before his two-year contract was due to end, Lennox Cornette, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN), has tendered his resignation.
It appears that the Board of Directors of NCN was not too happy with his performance.
Yesterday, Chairman of the Board, Enrico Woolford, confirmed that Cornette has resigned.
“It is the same situation that is being reported. He has resigned from the position with effect from March 15, 2018. His leave will go for two months prior to that. Therefore effectively the last day on the job will be January 12. That is what he said to us in his resignation letter in terms of the timeline.”
Woolford explained that the resignation is in keeping with the CEO’s contract which says he has the option of giving two months’ notice, if he wants to end the contract.
“…or we have to give him two months’ notice if we want to end the contract. His contract would have expired at the end of April. Meaning for May 3rd.”
Asked to respond to reports that the Board was not happy with Cornette’s performance, Woolford was diplomatic.
“Well, put it this way. He thought it best to resign, that might have indicated what…and the board accepted the resignation. It may have indicated how the board felt about his performance. But that is a question for him.”
Pressed then about whether the Board was happy under the CEO’s tenure, Woolford’s answer was a short … “No”.
In May 2016, shortly after Cornette’s appointment, Director of Public Information, Imran Khan, had resigned from his position as a Director on the board, in a bid to distance himself.
In a statement, Khan had made it clear that he had informed Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo that he could not associate himself with the appointment, which he described as “reckless” and “imprudent”.
“Specifically, I advised the Prime Minister that in light of the Chairman of the Board reporting to the board, confirming admittance to an act committed by the individual (Cornette, who was) recommended for a senior administrative position, I am of the conviction that continuing as a Director is untenable.”
NCN’s Chief Executive Officer, Lennox Cornette
Cornette’s appointment by the Board of Directors, as a replacement for former CEO Molly Hassan, took effect from May 1, 2016.
The public quickly became aware that Cornette, a communications consultant, had a chequered past.
Cornette had admitted to forging the signature of then GT&T Deputy General Manager, Terry Holder, while he was employed as the Public Relations Officer for the telephone company. Following Cornette’s appointment, emails exchanged between Khan and NCN Board Chairman Bishwa Panday had been published.
In it, Panday could be seen defending his decision to appoint Cornette over the objections of Khan. He had stressed that the board went through a transparent process and a special meeting had been called. Khan, however, expressed strong reservations over Cornette’s appointment.
In the emails, Khan had stated that he was “gravely afraid” of entrusting Cornette with the appointment and that if it reached the public domain, the board could find itself in a situation where it could not defend its decision. He had described it as a huge risk. Khan had also called into question Cornette’s lack of broadcast experience.
In his defence, Cornette had affirmed that the GT&T controversy had nothing to do with money or financial impropriety.
Cornette had also stated that the matter was dealt with internally. He had pointed out that after 1999, when he left the company, he still maintained cordial relations with the company.
For instance, he stated that in 2011 the company asked him to chair the annual Tele Gathering 16 event, which it was hosting. He also stated that in 2014, GT&T had assisted with printing his book, ‘The Development of Telecommunications in Guyana (1884-1994).’
Noting that numerous attacks had been made on him questioning his ability, he had pointed out that he had more than 20 years of experience in management and executive management positions to qualify him for the job.
Cornette was appointed after going through a round of interviews with the board. Panday had stated that he was the best candidate, citing that he holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the Australian Institute of Business, Diploma in Public Communication and certificates in Planning and Promotion from Bailbrook College, England.
The state-owned NCN had been struggling under the previous administration with reports of fraud, mismanagement and huge losses from poor decisions.
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