BT has confirmed its new chief executive, Philip Jansen.
Gavin Patterson will be replaced by Jansen, the current boss of payment service Worldpay.
It is said that BT’s leadership needed a fresh pair of eyes to help assess the business’s future. Philip Jensen’s base salary will add up to £1.1 million. This figure is £100,000 more than what Gavin Patterson was earning. Likewise, awards of up to 400% of his salary are included in his deal. This follows a yearly bonus of 240% of salary subject to performance. Additionally, the company will offer him a compensation of £900,000 as a result of the shares he will lose leaving Worldpay.
Philip Jansen commented in a statement:
“In a competitive market we will need to be absolutely focused on our customers’ needs and pursue the right technology investments to help grow the business.”
“I’m excited to get to know all the people at BT and work together to take the business forward.”
Shortly before his leave, Gavin Patterson announced that BT will be implementing 13,000 job cuts.
This is one of the few challenges the company will face in the upcoming years. It is also battling with the UK government and Ofcom. This is over a multi-billion pound programme to upgrade Britain’s digital infrastructure. Moreover, the company has one of Britain’s largest corporate pension deficits.
But, speculators have said that Jansen lacks the experience required to deal with fierce regulator Ofcom.
However, chairman of the BT Group called him a “proven leader” because of his outstanding leadership experience with complex businesses.
Jan du Plessis, chairman of BT Group, commented:
“Philip’s strong leadership has inspired his teams, successfully transformed businesses across multiple industries and created significant value for shareholders.”
Philip Jansen joins as shares in the business are down by over 8% since the beginning of the year.
At 15:37 today, shares in BT Group (LON:BT.A) were trading at -4.2%.
At 10:41 GMT -4 today, shares in Worldpay Inc (NYSE:WP) were trading by +1.53%.