BT CEO Ben Verwaayen to step down
After leading the telco 'back from the abyss'...
BT's CEO Ben Verwaayen is to step down as CEO on 31 May 2008 after more than six years at the telco where he championed its push into broadband and helped it dodge regulator Ofcom's axe.
Verwaayen, who will also step down from the BT board on 30 June, will be succeeded as CEO by Ian Livingston. Livingston joined BT in 2002 as group finance director and has been head of BT Retail since 2005.
Agenda Setters 2007 - Top 20
Find out who made it into silicon.com's Agenda Setters top 20 by clicking the links below…
1. Mark Zuckerberg
2. Steve Jobs
3. Eric Schmidt
4. John Chambers
5. Ashley Highfield
6. Nicholas Negroponte
7. Niklas Zennström
8. Diane Greene
9. Jonathan Ive
10.Viviane Reding
11.Paul Coby
12.Marc Benioff
13.Emily Bell
14.Larry Ellison
15.Jeff Bezos
16.Ben Verwaayen
17.Nandan Nilekani
18.David Yu
19.Satoru Iwata
20.Mark Hurd
Verwaayen made silicon.com's 2007 Agenda Setter list - ranked 16th - and is noted for championing initiatives such as BT's 21st Century Network (21CN) project to switch to an all-IP core network.
Verwaayen joined BT from Lucent Technologies in 2002. During his tenure, he led BT's push into the broadband market - the company remains the biggest fat pipe provider in the UK. And by driving investment in a next-generation network he recognised the importance of moving the incumbent beyond its hardware legacy and embracing a world of software and services.
Verwaayen was also instrumental in achieving a settlement with telecoms regulator Ofcom which saw the telco's Wholesale and Retail arms avoid the pain of schism, while giving birth to its access services division Openreach.
Analyst Ovum credits Verwaayen for "sorting out the mess he inherited when he joined BT in 2002", as well as "personally initiating a constructive dialogue and rapprochement between BT and Ofcom".
Mike Cansfield, telecoms strategy practice leader at Ovum said in a statement: "His legacy is a company that is in good financial health, well managed, and one that embraces change."
Verwaayen also gets credit for leading BT's drive to push climate change up the agenda, calling for government action on global warming and presiding over a shrinking corporate carbon footprint at BT through initiatives such as investing in energy efficient equipment and buying green energy.
According to Dr Chris Tuppen, BT's director of sustainable development, in 2006 the company's carbon footprint stood at 0.6 million tonnes of CO2 - down from 1.6 million tonnes in 1996. BT has set itself the goal of halving this by 2016.
Globalisation was another change Verwaayen did not shrink from - urging businesses to recognise offshoring as a reality of doing business in the 21st century, and one he said can be "better and cheaper".
Commenting on his time at BT, Verwaayen said in a statement: "I have had six exciting years and I am extremely proud of the people in BT. Without them the company's recent success would not have been possible. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to the executive directors who have served alongside me on the Board. Francois Barrault and Hanif Lalani have made a magnificent contribution. They are outstanding leaders."
He added: "Livingston will lead the company from strength to strength when he takes over as CEO in June. He is a great guy with a fantastic record of business achievement."
Commenting on Livingston's appointment, Ovum analyst Cansfield said: "Ian Livingston has long been the obvious internal candidate to replace Ben. Along with Ben and ex-chairman Sir Christopher Bland, as Group CFO he was part of the trio that lead BT back from the abyss. For the past three years he has headed up BT Retail… and managed a return to revenue growth and profitability for this division.
"In our view the future of BT is inextricably linked with the expanding on the successes to date of BT Retail. To do this necessitates an understanding of how to compete successfully in this congested market, and hence marketing skills. Ian brings this from his past at DSG, so is well placed to succeed in his new role."