BT to get new chief executive

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BT has announced today that Ian Livingston, currently chief executive of BT Retail, is to succeed Ben Verwaayen as chief executive of BT Group on 1 June.

Verwaayen will step down as chief executive after six years in the role on 31 May, and will leave the board on 30 June.

BT chairman Sir Mike Rake has paid tribute to the outgoing chief executive, who joined BT from Lucent in 2002, saying, "Ben has been an exceptional chief executive, whose courage and leadership has transformed BT from being a deeply troubled organisation into a thriving business with global capability and a clear strategy for the future... Ben has done more than anyone else to make Britain the most competitive broadband market in the world."

Verwaayen helped stabilise BT after its position weakened under the strain of large debts run up during the dot com boom and initiated the company's expansion into broadband and networked IT services.

Previous reports suggested that Verwaayen was delaying his departure after last year's revenue fell by a quarter.

However, BT's share price has risen slightly over the past month enabling Verwaayen to depart on a more positive note.

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