BT Group plc has turned to the Nordics for its new chief executive. Allison Kirkby has been President & CEO of Telia Company since early 2020.
She will take over from Philip Jansen as Chief Executive of BT by January 2024.
Adam Crozier, BT Group Chairman said: “The Board is delighted to have appointed Allison as our new Chief Executive. She is a proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses. I look forward to supporting her as we drive our long-term strategy to transform BT Group, ensuring it delivers for all our stakeholders.”
Kirkby moved into the TMT sector in 2010, initially joining Virgin Media. She was president of Tele2 AB in Denmark between 2015 and 2018, before moving to fellow Danish company TDC.
Earlier in her career she held a number of financial and operational roles at Procter & Gamble (1990-2010) and qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant in 1990 whilst at Guinness plc.
Kirkby has been a Non-Executive Director at BT Group since 2019 and is also a Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee of Brookfield Asset Management Limited.
Allison Kirkby said: “Our products and services have never been more important to how our customers live and work, and thanks to the significant investment BT is putting into digital infrastructure and in the modernisation of its services, I see us playing an even more important role going forward. Having been a member of the BT Group Board for the past four years, I’m fully supportive of our strategy and am excited about leading it into its next phase of development, as we grow to support customers, shareholders and the UK economy.”
Telia has thanked Kirkby for leading the company through a period of major transformation, implementing a renewed strategy focused on the Nordics and Baltics, and a return to growth across Telia’s footprint.
