BT appoints Worldpay's Philip Jansen as new chief executive

BT has named Philip Jansen as its new chief executive as the telecoms group seeks to revive its fortunes.

He replaces Gavin Patterson, who is stepping down after the company said a change of leadership was needed.

BT has been criticised for not investing enough in its broadband network and faced a £500m accounting scandal in 2017.

Mr Jansen, co-head of payment processing firm Worldpay, will be paid £1.1m, £100,000 more than Mr Patterson.

On top of his annual salary, there will be a yearly bonus of up to 240% of salary subject to performance. He will also join a long-term share incentive plan worth 400% of his salary.

Mr Patterson has run BT since 2013 but lost the confidence of shareholders earlier this year amid a host of problems at the firm.

Looking to cut costs, he announced 13,000 job cuts earlier this year, but when the firm failed to meet its targets in May its shares hit a six-year low.

Mr Jansen's in-tray will include dealing with intense competition from rivals, an underperforming IT services unit, a huge pension deficit and criticism of its broadband roll-out plans.

The 51-year-old has been head of Worldpay - which facilitates card, online and phone payments for small firms - since 2013, leading it through its flotation in 2015.

The Briton was previously boss of Brakes Group, a food and distribution company, and held senior roles at Sodexo Group, another food business.

However, commentators have pointed out he lacks experience dealing with a regulator as fierce as Ofcom, which oversees the UK telecoms market.

He also joins BT after a new strategy has been announced and as shares in the business are down more than 8% since the start of the year.

Jan du Plessis, chairman of BT Group, called Mr Jansen, a "proven leader" with outstanding experience in managing large complex businesses.

"Philip's strong leadership has inspired his teams, successfully transformed businesses across multiple industries and created significant value for shareholders."