BT names new CEO

Allison Kirkby will be BT's first female CEO when she assumes the role early next year

Britain's largest broadband and mobile company BT Group announced on Monday that Allison Kirkby, current chief executive of Sweden's Telia Company, will be taking on the role of BT's next CEO.

She is scheduled to assume the new role by the end of January 2024, replacing the current CEO, Philip Jansen, who disclosed his upcoming departure earlier this month.

Jansen said he would be stepping down from his role at BT within the next year.

In May, Jansen unveiled plans to implement workforce reductions of up to 55,000 jobs across the company by the year 2030.

He justified the move by emphasising the necessity for a more streamlined business structure and also cited the influence of AI on the company's operations.

Since Philip Jansen assumed the role of CEO in February 2019, BT's share price has experienced a significant decrease, nearly halving in value.

As of last Friday, the share price closed at £1.24, which resulted in the company's valuation being around £12 billion. The share price was nearly £5 per share in early 2016.

Jansen will continue to serve as the CEO until Kirkby assumes the role.

He will be actively involved in facilitating a smooth transition and will be available to support the handover process until the end of March 2024. After this period, Jansen intends to retire from his executive responsibilities.

Kirkby has been serving as a non-executive director at BT since 2019. Due to her role and qualifications, she had emerged as one of the top contenders to succeed Philip Jansen as the CEO of the company.

Kirkby will be BT's first female CEO once she assumes the position.

She expressed her backing for BT's existing strategy, which involves substantial investments in constructing a nationwide fibre broadband network and expanding 5G mobile coverage.

"Having been a member of the BT group board for the past four years, I'm fully supportive of our strategy and am excited about leading it into its next phase of development, as we grow to support customers, shareholders and the UK economy," she said in a statement on Monday.

Kirkby will be receiving an annual salary of £1.1 million in addition to a bonus that can go up to 200% of her salary. She will also be eligible for other share awards, aligning her remuneration package with that of Philip Jansen.

BT Chairman Adam Crozier highlighted Kirkby's qualifications, which include extensive sector expertise and a track record of successfully transforming businesses.

Kirkby's career began with her qualifying as a chartered management accountant while at the beverages company Guinness in 1990.

After that, she spent two decades working at the consumer goods company Procter & Gamble. Following her successful tenure there, she ventured into the telecoms industry and joined Virgin Media.

Over the past eight years, Kirkby has held leadership positions in three of the largest Scandinavian telecom companies.

She served as the head of Swedish telecom giant Telia Co AB starting from 2020. Before that, she was leading Denmark's TDC A/S, and prior to that, she held a leadership role at Sweden's Tele2 AB.

At TDC, she oversaw the breakup of operations into networks and services through a consortium led by Australian asset manager Macquarie Group Ltd.

More recently, Kirkby orchestrated the sale of mobile towers from Telia to private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management Limited.

Notably, she currently serves as a non-executive director at Brookfield Asset Management Limited.