ITV Alum Adam Crozier Appointed Chairman of BT

BT Group has tapped Adam Crozier to succeed Jan du Plessis as chairman.

Crozier will join the board as an independent non-executive director and chairman designate with effect from November 1 and will become chairman with effect from December 1, when du Plessis will retire from the BT Board.

Crozier is currently chairman of Whitbread, ASOS and Kantar Group, as well as a non-executive director of Sony Corporation. For over 20 years he was a CEO across four different sectors, most recently as the CEO of ITV and, before that, as CEO of Royal Mail Holdings.

On taking up the chairmanship of BT, Crozier will step down as chairman of ASOS and will not put himself forward for re-election at its upcoming annual general meeting. He will also step down as a non-executive director of Sony Corporation with effect from December 31.

Said du Plessis: “I am delighted Adam is succeeding me. Chairing the board of BT over the past four years has been a tremendous privilege. BT is a truly unique and special business, and what this company does really matters to so many people. I am immensely grateful to my fellow board members for their support and hard work during my tenure as chairman. I wish Adam every success as he joins the board at a very exciting time for the company, and I wish BT the very best for the future.”

Iain Conn, BT’s senior independent director, said: “After a thorough and comprehensive process to ensure we identified the very best candidate to lead BT, Adam is the unanimous choice of the board. He has significant experience in leading public company boards, developing teams and managing stakeholders and brings a strong transformational and operational track record in large-scale executive roles.”

Crozier said: “It is an honor to join the board of BT and to succeed Jan as chair. BT is a hugely important company, with a critical role to play in building the digital networks and services to support the U.K.’s future. I look forward to working with the board, Philip [Jansen] and his executive team to create value for all our stakeholders.”

Jansen, chief executive, said: “I would like to thank Jan for his leadership over the last four years. He has overseen the achievement of significant milestones and the recent improvement in BT’s fortunes, and his careful stewardship has left the business in a better, stronger position. On behalf of the Executive Committee and all our colleagues, I would like to wish him well for the future. I am delighted to welcome Adam to BT, and I really look forward to working with him as we target returning BT to consistent growth.”