BT Group Plc is searching for a new chief executive officer after Philip Jansen told the board he’d step down from Britain’s former state telecom company in the next 12 months.
(Bloomberg) — BT Group Plc is searching for a new chief executive officer after Philip Jansen told the board he’d step down from Britain’s former state telecom company in the next 12 months.
The board is considering “all appropriate candidates” and expects to be able to share an update over the summer, Chairman Adam Crozier said in a stock market announcement Monday.
Jansen, who took the CEO role in February 2019, focused investment at the London-based phone company on rolling out fiber optic connections across the UK while streamlining the rest of the business, such as merging internal business-to-business units and putting sport broadcasting into a joint venture.
Read More: BT Plans to Cut Up to 55,000 Jobs Following Fiber Rollout
He recently announced the company would cut as many as 55,000 of its 135,000-strong headcount by the end of the decade.
Jansen’s successor will have to grapple with a share price that’s fallen by almost 50% since he took over, as well as a UK ban on key Chinese supplier Huawei Technologies Co., higher energy prices, labor disputes and finding a way to recoup the investment needed for fiber and 5G.
BT’s Consumer division chief Marc Allera has been considered by the company as a possible successor in recent months, according to people familiar with the matter.
What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:
BT Group’s new CEO will have big shoes to fill after the company confirmed Philip Jansen’s intention to step down in the next 12 months. The outgoing chief has put BT on a clear path toward a leaner, technology-led operating model that aims to more than double cash flow over the midterm. His successor is likely to need adept business-transformation skills, diplomacy to handle union disquiet and cunning to outfox infrastructure-based rivals.
— Matthew Bloxham, BI media and telecoms analyst
(Updates with context and line on possible candidate in sixth paragraph)
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