BT appoints Telia boss as its new chief executive

She’ll take over from Philip Jansen after he set a course for significant jobs at BT, taking over in the early part of 2024.  

Kirkby, who entered the sector in 2010 after working in financial operations at the likes of Procter & Gamble and Guinness, has been a non-executive director at BT Group since 2019 and is also a non-executive director and member of the audit committee of Brookfield Asset Management Limited. 

Kirkby said: “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.”

Jansen will continue to serve as chief executive until the end of January 2024, being available to support the handover until the end of March 2024, at which point he intends to retire from executive life.