Phillip Jansen named as new BT boss

Philip Jansen has been named as the new BT boss, replacing Gavin Patterson. 

Jansen is the current boss at Worldpay (LON: WPY) and will be paid £1.1 million in his new role at BT – £100,000 more than Patterson. 

In addition, there will be a yearly bonus of up to 240% of salary subject to performance.

Patterson is stepping down from the telecoms group after the company said that a change of leadership was required.

Jansen said: “In a competitive market we will need to be absolutely focused on our customers’ needs and pursue the right technology investments to help grow the business.”

“I’m excited to get to know all the people at BT and work together to take the business forward.”

Patterson has been boss of BT since 2013 but has lost shareholder confidence. Shares in the group hit a six-year low in May.

Jan du Plessis, who is the chairman of BT, said that Jansen is a “proven leader” with outstanding experience.

“Philip’s strong leadership has inspired his teams, successfully transformed businesses across multiple industries and created significant value for shareholders,” he said.

Speaking about Patterson earlier this year, du Plessis was supportive.

“You do not build great businesses by being fussed about tomorrow morning’s share price,” he said.

“This is a great company, but we’ve got problems and challenges, and we’re going to address them by focusing on the right places, by investing in networks, by investing in converged connectivity, and by reshaping the organisation the way that Gavin announced.”

Shares in BT (LON: BT.A) are trading down -4.58% at 238,75 (1225GMT).

 

 

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