BT boss Philip Jansen to step down within a year
BT confirmed today boss Philip Jansen will step down “at an appropriate moment” within the next year.
In a statement this morning, the telecoms giant said its nominations committee has been conducting a formal succession process.
Adam Crozier, chair of BT Group, said: “Philip has done an excellent job in his time at BT and the Board is fully supportive of our long-term strategy which he and his team are pursuing. Whilst we are still in the early years of that transformation we are on track to deliver.”
Crozier said BT will be able to update the market over the course of the summer. “In the meantime, it is business as usual, and we are focused on executing our plans and delivering for all our stakeholders,” he commented.
Jansen joined BT from payments group Worldpay in early 2019. In that time BT’s share price has fallen by around half, making it an attractive takeover target. Deutsche Telekom, its German counterpart which holds a 12 per cent approach, has been rumoured to be interested in an offer.
Earlier this year he announced plans to cut BT’s workforce by as much as 42 per cent of the next seven years in an attempt to become a “leaner business”.
He also backed widespread investment in high-speed broadband, aiming to connect 25m homes by the end of 2026.
Jansen said: “We’ve made a lot of progress over the last four and half years and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved to date. We’re investing heavily in both BT’s and the UK’s future. We’re building like fury, have now passed over 11m homes with fibre, have got 5G service to 68 per cent of the country and our customer service is much improved.”