January 8, 2010
JEFF KELLY JOINS BT AS CEO BT GLOBAL SERVICES
Hanif Lalani to leave BT after 26 years service
Jeff Kelly is joining BT as CEO of its Global Services division. Kelly, a US citizen, has close to 25 years IT services experience at the Global IT services firm, EDS, where he most recently ran their $10 billion business in the Americas.
Kelly will take over from Hanif Lalani who, after 26 years with BT, is leaving the company to pursue personal business interests. He will step down from the Board with immediate effect. Lalani has played an important role at Global Services, stabilising the division and then delivering improved financial results over sequential quarters.
Kelly's task will be to build on that progress and help BT Global Services realise its potential as a world leading provider of managed networked services. The division already possesses an excellent customer base and wins major awards for its customer service so the foundations are in place for a successful business.
Lalani has held a number of positions in BT including CEO, BT Northern Ireland where he received an OBE for his services. He has been a BT Group Board member since 2005, initially as Group CFO and most recently as CEO Global Services. He will stay on with BT until the end of March to assist with a smooth transition of responsibilities. Kelly will start with immediate effect.
Kelly said: "I am thrilled to be joining BT at such an exciting time. I know from experience that Global Services enjoys a terrific reputation for its customer service and client base. My job is to build on those foundations and create a business that delivers value to BT's shareholders as well as its customers. Globalisation is here to stay and BT can help companies make the most of the opportunity it presents".
Ian Livingston, BT CEO added: "Hanif took over as CEO of Global Services at a difficult time for the division. He and his team firstly stabilised and then started to turn around the business delivering significantly improved financial results and world class customer service. We are very grateful to Hanif for his hard work in achieving this".
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About BT
BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.
In the year ended 31 March 2009, BT Group's revenue was £21,390 million.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.
For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt