Philip Jansen was appointed Group CEO in February 2019; the operator’s shares have fallen 35% over the last year
Philip Jansen (pictured), BT Group’s CEO is reportedly planning to leave the job in 2024, which is no surprise. His time as CEO has been one fraught with difficulties and two recent, embarrassingly bald attempts to give share price a fillip failed – first about slashing 55,000 jobs by 2030 and second by saying trying to compete against BT’s semi-detached fibre broadband wholesaler, Openreach would “end in tears” for rivals.
Bad for shareholders
Tim Höttges, Group CEO of Deutsche Telekom, which is Europe’s biggest telco group, has publicly stated how much he regrets accepting shares in BT in exchange for DT’s shares in EE in 2015. BT’s shares have never recovered from the Italian accounting scandal that surfaced In 2016. In February 2023, Höttges said, “I want my money back”.
Many BT shareholder probably feel the same: despite hefty prices rises for consumers enduring the cost of living crisis, BT’s profits have remained flat and the omen for the consolidated BT Business are not looking good. Jansen received remuneration of about #3 million in BT’ last financial year according to the Financial Times.
Increasingly shaky ground
Kester Mann, Director, Consumer and Connectivity, CCS Insight, sums up the situation: “Mr Jansen had been looking on increasingly shaky ground at BT. The company’s shares have almost halved since he took over in early 2019, while recent inflammatory comments about the role of fibre altnets drew concern from Ofcom.
“The CEO has endured a rollercoaster ride at BT. He presided over the operator’s impressive response to the pandemic; embarked on a massive cost-saving drive; oversaw a major acceleration in the deployment of full fibre; witnessed Patrick Drahi take a near-25% stake in the company; and watched thousands of staff strike over pay.
“Confirmation of the new CEO is expected within weeks and while many names will inevitably be linked to the role, there appears no obvious initial candidate to take it on. BT will likely cast its net wide, both internally, elsewhere within the telco sector, and potentially in a different industry altogether.”
Jansen came to BT from payments firm WorldPay.