BT will appoint Adam Crozier as chairman in December, hoping his record of turning around organisations in multiple sectors will aid its own network and operational restructures.
The company is currently investing heavily in full fibre and 5G networks, while its planned modernisation programme will see it vacate its London St Paul headquarters in favour of a new head office and base its operations at around 30 sites across the UK.
The programme will also involve the loss of 13,000 jobs, mainly in back office and middle management roles, with new positions created in engineering and customer service.
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It is hoped the changes will save £1.3 billion, allow the more streamlined company to react more rapidly to market trends, and means it can get closer to customers.
Reports earlier this year suggested CEO Philip Jansen, who joined in 2018, had grown frustrated at the pace of the transformation and wanted a new chairman in place. BT denied claims Jansen had threatened to quit, but du Plessis announced his retirement in March.
Crozier is currently chairman of Whitbread, ASOS and Kantar Group, while he is also a non-executive director of the Sony Corporation. He is also a former chief executive of the Football Association, ITV and Royal Mail, organisations where he is credited with implementing new strategies that aided modernisation.
“Adam is the unanimous choice of the Board,” declared Iain Conn, BT's Senior Independent Director. “He has significant experience in leading public company boards, developing teams and managing stakeholders and brings a strong transformational and operational track record in large-scale executive roles.”
“It is an honour to join the Board of BT and to succeed Jan as Chair,” added Crozier. “BT is a hugely important company, with a critical role to play in building the digital networks and services to support the UK’s future. I look forward to working with the Board, Philip and his executive team to create value for all our stakeholders.”
Crozier will join BT on 1 November and assume his new position on 1 December.
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