BT Group confirmed Philip Jansen (pictured), co-CEO of payment processor Worldpay, will replace Gavin Patterson in February, with the current chief extending his tenure longer than initially anticipated.

Jansen will be become BT executive director on 1 January, the day after he leaves his current role, before taking over as CEO a month later.

In the wake of multiple reports of a loss in shareholder confidence in Patterson, BT announced in June that its chief would leave the company in the second half of 2018, when a successor could be found.

However, with Jansen still under contract at his current role, Patterson will stay on.

Jansen has been co-chief of Worldpay since 2013, but brings communications sector experience having previously been marketing director and then managing director of the consumer division of UK cable company Telewest Communications. During his time at Telewest Communications, he worked alongside Patterson.

Preferred candidate
The Worldpay executive emerged as BT’s preferred candidate in September and was reportedly offered the job last week. Other executives linked with the job during its four month search included Verizon group president Ronan Dunne, former EE chief Olaf Swantee and BT consumer CEO Marc Allera.

BT Group chairman Jan du Plessis said Jansen was “a proven leader with outstanding experience in managing large complex businesses” adding his “strong leadership has inspired his teams, successfully transformed businesses across multiple industries and created significant value for shareholders.”

Discussing his new role, Jansen 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.”

Jansen joins BT at a time of transition with the company in the process of slashing both its workforce and office footprint in a bid to reduce its operating costs. Its consumer division is also making its first attempt at pushing converged communications services into the UK market.