Tech millionaire lands top job at BT in £9m deal
BT HAS hired the boss of payments giant Worldpay as its next chief executive, with a lucrative pay package of more than £9m.
The telecoms giant said Philip Jansen will replace Gavin Patterson, who leaves on January 31 after losing shareholders’ support.
Jansen, 51, has to revive the embattled company’s fortunes after years of lacklustre performance.
Under Patterson, BT was criticised for poor customer service, had several runins with regulator Ofcom and was hit by a massive accounting scandal in Italy. Its shares have halved in value over the past three years.
Jan du Plessis, BT’s chairman, said Jansen was chosen because of his experience leading Worldpay, a British financial technology pioneer. He added: ‘ Philip is a proven leader with experience in managing large complex businesses. I think he’ll come here with a fresh eye over what we do and our strategy.’
The deal awarded to Jansen, who already has an estimated fortune of £100m, is set to make him one of the FTSE 100’s best-paid bosses.
He will be handed a one-off payment of BT shares worth £895,848 to compensate him for the awards he would have been handed at Worldpay.
The rest of his package is made up of a £1.1m salary, an annual bonus worth up to £2.6m, and a long-term bonus which is worth up to £4.4m.
He will also receive £165,000 in pension contributions as well as health and life insurance, and a company car, taking the overall value of his package to more than £9m.
South African du Plessis defended the deal, saying it was in line with what rivals might offer. He added: ‘Overall I think it is right. Philip has also taken a fixed pay deal for five years, which I think is quite a sensible element to this.’
Jansen has headed Worldpay since 2013, leading it through its flotation in 2015 until its merger with Vantiv in 2017. At the time of the deal, he angrily denied tto the Mail that he was motivated by a possible £34m he stood to make from the takeover. ‘ The money is not important to mme’, he said. ‘Honestly, I find it amazing you take that view.’
The married father-of-five, who lives in west London, was previously chief executive and chairman of Brakes Group.
Yesterday he said: ‘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.’
Patterson’s departure was announced earlier this year after shareholders made clear they did not believe he was the right man to lead an overhaul.
He had just announced turnaround plans which included sacking 13,000 staff and making £1.5bn in cost savings. He also ploughed £5bn into TV sports rights in a bid to take on Sky.
His departure next year, after a month- long ‘ handover’ with Jansen, will end a near-five-year stint as chief executive.
Du Plessis insisted Jansen would have a free hand but played down speculation it could spin off its network arm, Openreach.
The chairman said: ‘ I don’t think a full separation would be good for Openreach, for our customers or for the UK.’
Shares in BT fell 3.9pc, or 9.65p, to 240.55p.