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BT Group CEO to step down next month

British telecoms operator BT Group said yesterday that chief executive Ben Verwaayen, credited with turning the company round, would step down next month to be replaced by retail division head Ian Livingston.

A spokesman for the group said the Dutchman, 56, felt it was the right time to leave after heading BT since 2002.

“Ben just feels that it’s the right time for him to announce he’s leaving BT,” the spokesman said.

“He has been with us for six and a half years now. It’s almost two years longer than the average length of” a chief executive of a company on London’s FTSE 100 share index.

“The success is always to leave before people suggest that you leave,” the spokesman said. “He leaves the company in exceptionally good shape.”

BT said in a statement that Verwaayen would step down as chief executive on May 31 and would leave the board at the end of June.

Scotsman Livingston, who is currently chief executive of BT Retail, would begin his new job on June 1.

“Ben has been an exceptional CEO whose courage and leadership has transformed BT from being a deeply troubled organization into a thriving business with global capability and a clear strategy for the future,” BT chairman Mike Rake in a statement.

Verwaayen has helped to transform former monopoly BT into a leading global provider of telecommunication services.

Amid fierce competition and dwindling demand for its traditional fixed-line telephone service, the British group has moved quickly into the Internet and television markets, offering high-speed broadband and program downloads.

“I have had six exciting years and I am extremely proud of the people in BT,” Verwaayen said in the statement. “Without them, the company’s recent success would not have been possible.”

“Ian Livingston will lead the company from strength to strength when he takes over as chief executive in June. He is a great guy with a fantastic record of business achievement,” Verwaayen said.
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