BT’s new chairman has tough to-do list
Jan du Plessis will have to lead the company as it seeks to rebound from a tough year, including an accounting scandal and a slowdown in its outsourcing divisions
London — BT Group has named Jan du Plessis as its new chairman, selecting an experienced businessman who has guided Rio Tinto for eight years and helped engineer SABMiller’s $104bn sale. Du Plessis will start in the role on November 1, after joining the board as a nonexecutive director on June 1, the former British telephone monopoly said in a statement Thursday. He was planning to step down as chairman of Rio Tinto’s board in 2018 after promising he would stay for two years following Jean-Sebastien Jacques’s promotion to CEO in March 2016, a person familiar with the matter said. As chairman, Du Plessis will have to help lead BT as it seeks to rebound from a tough year, including an accounting scandal in Italy and a slowdown in its government and corporate outsourcing divisions. BT is also battling regulators over the future of its UK network division even as it seeks to retain customers by expanding into pay-TV and mobile-phone services, going head-to-head with rivals including Sky...
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