Yell names Tony Bates as its new head of finance
YELLOW-PAGES publisher Yell appointed Tony Bates, a former executive at telecoms provider Colt and music label EMI, as its new finance chief yesterday.
Bates, 54, said in July he would step down as CFO of corporate telecoms specialist Colt, where Yell said he had been instrumental in turning the business around to becoming cash-generative, debt-free and profitable.
Heavily indebted Yell said in May that both Chief Executive John Condron and CFO John Davis would leave the company by May 2011, sending its shares down 19 per cent on the day. Bates, who was also CFO of EMI from 2000 to 2002, said in a statement he saw the potential for Yell to “prosper considerably” thanks to its strong brand, profitability and cash generation as business confidence returned. Yell, which is fighting to hold its own against rivals like Google online, reported an 11 percent drop in sales for the quarter to the end of June.