BT Group announced the appointment of Philip Jansen as chief executive officer as the replacement of Gavin Patterson.
Philip Jansen will join BT Group in January 2019. He is currently the co-chief executive of Worldpay. Philip Jansen has been chief executive of Worldpay since 2013. Earlier in his career Philip Jansen was managing director of Telewest Communications’ Consumer Division.
Jansen, 51, has led Worldpay through Britain’s biggest financial technology IPO.
BT CEO Philip Jansen’s remuneration — as an executive director and chief executive of the company — will include a salary of 1.1 million pounds per year along with a cash allowance in lieu of pension of 15 percent of salary and an annual bonus of up to 240 percent of salary subject to performance.
Philip Jansen will also receive an Incentive Share Plan (ISP) award of 400 percent of salary, subject to performance.
Gavin Patterson, who was under pressure to leave BT, received a total of 2.3 million pounds or $3.1 million in the year to the end of March, according to the company’s annual report — basic pay of 997,000 pounds plus 1.292 million pound bonus. He had missed out on a bonus in the previous year after a number of setbacks.
BT Group said Philip Jansen has committed to invest £2 million in BT shares within 30 days of this announcement.
Separately, the company said former Vodafone and O2 executive Matthew Key would join the BT board as a non-executive director immediately.
Gavin Patterson ran BT for almost five years and announced some 13,000 job cuts earlier this year as the former fixed-line monopoly struggled with competition, an underperforming IT services unit, a huge pension deficit and criticism of its broadband plans, Reuters reported.
A fraud left a 530-million-pound or $683 million black hole in the company’s Italian business, forcing Gavin Patterson to cut profit targets in 2017.
BT Chairman Jan du Plessis said earlier the board was confident in Gavin Patterson’s strategy but doubted his ability to deliver it.
Gavin Patterson was instrumental in BT venturing into TV sports, taking on Sky in Premier League soccer rights, and buying market leader EE.
