BT Group names Allison Kirkby CEO

BT Group has appointed Allison Kirkby as new chief executive, she replaces Philip Jansen who steps down at the end of January 2024 at the latest.

Kirkby is president and CEO of Sweden-based telco provider Telia Company and has been a non-executive director at BT Group since 2019. Her appointment marks the first female CEO of BT Group.

The chief launched her career in the TMT sector in 2010 at Virgin Media; she has since held roles at Denmark’s TDC and Tele2 AB.

Jensen joined the company in 2013 before being appointed CEO in 2019. The former BT boss will continue to serve as chief exec until the end of January next year and will support the handover to Kirkby until the end of March 2024.

Adam Crozier, BT Group chairman said: “The Board is delighted to have appointed Allison as our new Chief Executive. She is a proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses. I look forward to supporting her as we drive our long-term strategy to transform BT Group, ensuring it delivers for all our stakeholders.”

Kirkby said: “I’m incredibly honoured to have been appointed as the next Chief Executive of BT Group. BT is such an important company for the UK, and our many customers both in the UK and internationally and is uniquely placed to help everyone benefit from the rapid advances in digitalisation. Our products and services have never been more important to how our customers live and work, and thanks to the significant investment BT is putting into digital infrastructure and in the modernisation of its services, I see us playing an even more important role going forward. 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.”

The company said a further announcement will follow to confirm Kirkby’s start date and the handover date.