BT in Talks With Worldpay's Jansen About CEO Job – Reports
BT is trying to persuade Worldpay boss Philip Jansen to become its next CEO, replacing Gavin Patterson at the helm of the embattled UK phone incumbent, according to reports originating with Sky News.
Jansen, who has not previously been linked with the role, is now said to be the preferred candidate for the CEO job and is expected to accept it, according to unidentified sources who spoke with Sky.
Should he do so, BT Group plc is likely to make an announcement about his succession in the next month, Sky reports.
The UK operator has been on the lookout for a new CEO ever since Patterson tendered his resignation in June under pressure from shareholders disappointed with BT's recent performance.
Battered by an accounting scandal in Italy, weak conditions in some international markets and a mixture of competition and regulation at home, BT has watched its share price drop 42% in the past two years.
The company was recently said to have approached Stephen Carter, the boss of UK events company Informa plc (and the owner of Light Reading), about succeeding Patterson, with reports at the time suggesting Carter had no interest in the job.
Another who has been repeatedly linked with the role is Olaf Swantee, the CEO of Swiss telco Sunrise Communications AG and the former CEO of EE, the mobile operator that BT acquired in early 2016. Outside BT Group, other possible candidates have included Liv Garfield, CEO of water company Severn Trent (and a former BT executive), Tele2 AB CEO Allison Kirkby, Dominique Leroy, the boss of Belgian telecom incumbent Proximus, and Ronan Dunne, who was the CEO of BT rival Telefónica UK Ltd. before taking up his current job as head of Verizon Wireless in the US.
Source lightreading
Industry: Telecommunications News
