Nadir Mohamed, prominent business leader and former Rogers CEO, has died

Nadir Mohamed, a prominent business leader and former president and chief executive officer of Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T, has died.

Mr. Mohamed was chair of Alignvest Management Corp. and a director of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board until last year. He was active in Canada’s entrepreneurship community and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2019.

Mr. Mohamed was president and CEO of Rogers Communications from March, 2009, to December, 2013.

He died on Thursday, Sept. 18 in Toronto at the of age 69, after several years of treatment for cancer.

He joined Rogers in 2000 and served as president and CEO of Rogers Wireless from 2001 through 2005, when he was appointed president and chief operating officer of Rogers Communications Group.

In a statement, Edward Rogers, executive chair of Rogers and son of founder Ted Rogers, said Mr. Mohamed contributed immensely to the country and to the company’s success.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Nadir. Nadir was an exceptional leader, a deeply respected executive and a generous person who led Rogers during an extraordinary time of change for our company and industry,” Mr. Rogers said.

Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers, said Mr. Mohamed meaningfully contributed to Rogers’s legacy and passionately contributed to Canada’s innovation agenda. “He was a gracious leader and a true class act,” Mr. Staffieri said.

Numerous people who knew Mr. Mohamed described him as a thoughtful and wise man with a deep commitment to ensuring young people had access to education. One of his strongest beliefs, stemming from the circumstances of his youth, was that education is a passport that cannot be taken away.

Mr. Mohamed was born in Dar es Salaam, then the capital of Tanzania, and grew up in an Indian immigrant family. His parents sent him to England to be educated. When his father’s hardware business was nationalized by the state without compensation, the family fled Africa to Vancouver and picked up the pieces.

After finishing college, Mr. Mohamed joined his parents and sister in Canada, settling into the West Coast’s vibrant Ismaili community. Vancouver is where Nadir met his future wife, Shabin, another expatriate from Africa, and began a long and loving relationship that would see the pair take on public roles at numerous charities and organizations.

After a commerce degree at the University of British Columbia, Mr. Mohamed became a chartered accountant and then found a finance job at British Columbia Telephone Co., beginning what would become a decades-long career in the telecommunications sector.

Mr. Mohamed served three terms on Toronto Metropolitan University’s board of governors, and he had been appointed for a three-year honorary term in 2023.

Mohamed Lachemi, president and vice-chancellor of Toronto Metropolitan University, described Mr. Mohamed – who he says he considered “like a brother” – as modest, despite his many accomplishments.

“He was not the type of person that liked to make lot of noise around him, but when he spoke, people listened,” Mr. Lachemi said.

After retiring from Rogers, Mr. Mohamed focused on advancing innovation in Canada, both within and outside his role with the university.

In addition to his involvement on numerous boards, including Tennis Canada and UHN Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation, Mr. Mohamed was a founding board member of the Vector Institute, co-founder of ScaleUp Ventures and chair of DMZ Ventures, and a founding board member of the entrepreneurship initiative Next Canada.

Mr. Mohamed cared deeply about giving back to the country he had immigrated to, said Canadian entrepreneur Reza Satchu. As friends for more than 20 years, the pair bonded over their shared history as Ismaili immigrants, Mr. Satchu said.

“Nadir, at his core, was someone who really wanted to see others succeed and build things,” he said. “He inspired a lot of people who either immigrated to Canada or who don’t look the part.”

Others who knew Mr. Mohamed in the telecommunications sector and through his other engagements said he had a knack for uniting people, in part because of the breadth of his own personal experience and interests.

During their time working together at the university, former TMU president Sheldon Levy said there were times when students, faculty and the business community would be divided on an issue. Mr. Mohamed always found a way to bring everyone together. Yet despite his successes championing young companies, he was humble, Mr. Levy said. “He never did it to be known. He did it to help.”

Numerous organizations, including Alignvest, the Vector Institute and Cineplex Inc., where Mr. Mohamed had served as a board member since 2017, published statements on Friday celebrating Mr. Mohamed’s work and leadership.

He was also recognized by industry leaders. Former Rogers CEO Joe Natale said Mr. Mohamed was “a thoughtful and caring person, guided equally by his head and his heart,” to whom mentorship was “second nature.” John Ruffolo, founder and managing partner of Maverix Private Equity, said that Mr. Mohamed “possessed a rare combination of deep intelligence, intellectual curiosity and humility.”

Over the past several years, Mr. Mohamed battled several forms of cancer. Even during this personal challenge, TMU president Mr. Lachemi said he wanted to use his perspectives to benefit others, and the pair often discussed how the university could develop its medical education programs.

Despite these health struggles, Mr. Mohamed’s sense of humour hardly faltered, said Mr. Satchu. They recently shared lighthearted moments together while Mr. Mohamed was waiting to receive stem cell treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Just months ago, Mr. Lachemi had informed Mr. Mohamed that the university was awarding him an honorary doctorate for his contributions. The news had not yet been made public.

“I’m sorry that we will not be able to have him celebrating with our students, but we will celebrate his legacy,” Mr. Lachemi said.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to correct the spelling of John Ruffolo. (Sept. 20, 2025) This article was updated to note that it was Nadir Mohamed, not Reza Satchu, who was waiting for a stem cell treatment, and to correct Mr. Mohamed’s place of death.