BT confirms first female chief Allison Kirkby will start next month
BT has confirmed Allison Kirkby is set to step up as chief executive of the British telecoms group starting 1 February 2024.
In under a month, she will take over from Philip Jansen, who has held the role since February 2019.
Kirkby will become the group’s first female boss in its 170-year history, but she faces a tough period as the firm continues its ambitious nationwide rollout of full-fibre broadband.
The UK’s largest network aims to connect 25m homes and businesses to the new, faster broadband by the end of 2026.
Analysts have warned that the former chief of Nordic telecoms giant Telia has her work cut out for her as BT looks to streamline operations and cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030.
When the news was first announced in July, Kikrby said she felt “incredibly honoured” to have been appointed by BT because it is “such an important company for the UK.”
Kikrby is expected to earn £1.1m per year with an annual bonus worth up to double her salary.
Last week, BT narrowly missed a deadline to remove Huawei tech equipment from its core networks – a task that Kirkby will have to complete.