Appointment of new CEO

BT Group PLC
12 December 2001





                                                             December 12, 2001

                       BT ANNOUNCES NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE

BT Group plc today announced the appointment of Ben Verwaayen as chief
executive officer in succession to Sir Peter Bonfield.

Mr Verwaayen is 49 and is a Dutch national. He is currently vice chairman of
Lucent Technologies in the US. He will join BT Group and the Board as
CEO-designate on January 14th 2002 and will become CEO on February 1st when
Sir Peter leaves. He will chair the BT Group plc Executive Committee from
February 1st.

Mr Verwaayen has had a long career within the telecommunications industry. He
joined Lucent in September 1997 as executive vice president international and
became chief operating officer the following month. He became vice chairman in
October 1999.

Prior to joining Lucent he worked for KPN for 10 years as president and
managing director of its telecoms subsidiary, PTT Telecom, a decade of
transformation and restructuring at KPN.

He established the international Unisource alliance with

European partners: in 1996, the alliance formed a joint venture with AT&T with
Mr Verwaayen as chairman of the supervisory board.

From 1975 to 1988 he worked for ITT in Europe and the US.

Sir Christopher Bland, chairman of BT Group plc, said: 'I am delighted that
Ben is joining BT. He brings a wealth of experience in the sector, gained both
in Europe and the US, and he is outstandingly well-qualified to lead the BT
Group's strong executive team.'

Mr Verwaayen said: ' I am thrilled to be joining the BT Group at this point
because the company has such exciting possibilities going forward. With clear
focus, determination and the breadth of talents within the company I am sure
BT can and will deliver to its customers, shareholders and employees. BT
undoubtedly has a great future and I'm going to enjoy being part of it.'

Sir Peter Bonfield said: 'I have known Ben for many years in the
communications business. I wish him every success in continuing to drive the
changes in BT.'

Ben Verwaayen is married with two children, both of whom are studying in the
US. His salary on joining BT will be £700,000.

His total remuneration will be heavily leveraged towards performance. His
initial contract is for two years and then becomes a one-year rolling
contract.

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Notes for editors:

Ben Verwaayen was born in February 1952. He is a Dutch national and graduated
with a Master's degree in law and international politics from the State
University of Utrecht, Holland. He is married with one son and one daughter,
each currently studying at university in the US. He is a soccer enthusiast and
follows the fortunes of Arsenal closely.

Ben Verwaayen is a member of the Advisory Council of ING, a member of the
board of Astro All Asia Networks (ASTRO), and a member of the board of
HealthCenter Internet Services, Inc.



Lucent Technologies Inc

October 1999- vice chairman of the management board

October 1997-October 1999  executive vice president and chief operating officer

September 97-October 1997  executive vice president, international

Koninklijke PTT Nederland (KPN)

May 1988-mid 1997  President and managing director PTT Telecom

1996- mid 1997   Chairman Unisource European venture with Telia,

Swisscom and Telefonica; and chairman AT&T/Unisource

ITT Nederland BV

1975- May 1988 General Manager, after series of positions in business

development, HR and public relations.



Ben Verwaayen will be paid a base salary of £700,000 per annum with an
on-target bonus of 85 per cent of salary and a maximum bonus of 130 per cent.
He will receive a one-off grant of £1m of restricted stock on joining BT Group
plc which vests after three years. He will invest £1m of his own funds in BT
Group stock and this will be matched by the company with £1m of restricted
stock, vesting after three years.

He is also entitled to an annual deferred bonus of 100 per cent of the annual
bonus he actually receives, paid in shares. This vests three years after
grant. If he achieves his on-target performance over 60 per cent of his annual
earnings will be performance-related.

All share options will be related to the performance of the company. Options
will be issued at four times salary, the first grant being on appointment and
subsequent awards at the time of annual grants by the company, the first being
due in mid-2002. The options vest three years after grant.

He will sell all stock and relinquish all options he has in Lucent.



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