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BT Group Shares Were Down 1.17% on a New CEO’s Appointment

Simon Mugo trader
Updated 31 Jul 2023

The BT Group Plc (LON: BT.A) share price was down 1.17% after announcing the appointment of Allison Kirkby as its next CEO. She is scheduled to take over from the current CEO, Philip Jansen, around January 2024. Investors were not excited about the announcement, as evidenced by today’s sideways trading.


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The BT Group share price has been trading sideways since the beginning of July, and today’s announcement did little to break the shares out of the trading range. Kirkby has been the CEO of Telia, a leading telecommunications and digital communications provider within the Nordic and Baltic regions, serving over 25 million customers. 

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YOUR CAPITAL IS AT RISK. 76% OF RETAIL CFD ACCOUNTS LOSE MONEY

Investors have been waiting for BT Group’s board to name a successor to Philip Jansen, who has been CEO since 2019, after news broke earlier this month that Jansen had gotten several job offers in the United States and was considering leaving the company sometimes in 2024. 

Jansen is said to have communicated his intentions to the BT Group board, which enlisted the help of Spencer Stuart, an executive search firm, to find a successor to Jansen. Ms Kirkby was singled out earlier as one of the potential successors before today’s announcement, which could explain the lack of movement in BT shares. 

Philip Jansen will continue serving as CEO until the end of January 2024. He will then hand over to Allison when he steps down. Still, he will be available to support the handover until the end of March 2024.

Adam Crozier, BT Group Chairman, said: “The Board is delighted to have appointed Allison as our new Chief Executive. She is a proven leader with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses. I look forward to supporting her as we drive our long-term strategy to transform BT Group, ensuring it delivers for all our stakeholders.”

Allison Kirkby said: “I’m incredibly honoured to have been appointed as the next Chief Executive of BT Group. BT is such an important company for the UK and our many customers both in the UK and internationally and is uniquely placed to help everyone benefit from the rapid advances in digitalisation.”

*This is not investment advice. 

BT Group (BT) share price. 

Bt Group shares were trading down 1.17% for the day at 122.80p, from Friday’s closing price of 124.25p.


YOUR CAPITAL IS AT RISK. 76% OF RETAIL CFD ACCOUNTS LOSE MONEY.


Simon has over six years of professional trading experience across FX, commodities and equities. He has a strong passion for financial markets and is particularly focused on price action trading