Telus CEO Tells Successor to Take Risks

Darren Entwistle is leaving Telus after 26 years with a simple instruction for the next chief executive: take risks and trust the team.

That advice lands with unusual weight. Entwistle has occupied the top job at Telus for more than two decades, a span long enough to shape not just a company’s strategy but its culture, cadence, and public identity. His parting words suggest he sees the next chapter not as a time for caution, but as a test of conviction and leadership.

The outgoing CEO’s message points to a handoff built on confidence: back your people, make hard calls, and don’t lead timidly.

Reports indicate Entwistle shared that guidance shortly before stepping down, framing the transition around judgment rather than simple continuity. That matters in a major corporate succession. Investors, employees, and competitors often look for signs that a long-serving leader wants a safe pair of hands. Entwistle’s message appears to push in a different direction — toward calculated bets and stronger internal trust.

The signal here goes beyond one executive’s farewell. It hints at how Telus may want to navigate whatever comes next: not by clinging to a legacy model, but by relying on leadership that can make bold decisions without losing the confidence of the organization. Sources suggest the emphasis on trust reflects the practical reality of running a large company in a fast-moving market, where no chief executive succeeds alone.

The next moves now matter more than the farewell words. Telus faces a leadership transition that will invite scrutiny over strategy, execution, and pace of change. Entwistle’s final advice sets a clear benchmark for the person who follows him — not to preserve the role as he held it, but to use it decisively. That will shape how employees read the transition, how investors judge it, and how quickly the company defines its next era.