BT has announced that Sir Christopher Bland’s successor as chairman will be Sir Michael Rake, the current chairman of KPMG International.
KPMG is one of the world’s leading accountancy firms and has a global fee income of $17 billion. It is represented in 148 countries and employs 113,000 people.
Welcoming the appointment, Bland said: “On behalf of the board I am delighted to be handing over the chairmanship of BT to such a distinguished international businessman.
“Michael has demonstrated outstanding leadership of a major global organisation during a time of considerable turbulence and change. I have every confidence that he will bring those same qualities of leadership to BT.”
Rake said: “I am thrilled to be joining a company which has achieved so much in recent years and has such ambition for the future. Sir Christopher Bland has done a magnificent job setting BT on a secure financial footing and developing a strategy for the future. Ben Verwaayen leads an outstanding team. I look forward to working closely with him, the board and my new colleagues.
“I feel extremely enthusiastic about helping to build upon the success of a company which has already given Britain a position of international leadership in broadband availability and has established itself as a world leader in networked IT services.”
Ben Verwaayen added: “I congratulate Michael on his outstanding achievement at KPMG. I am excited at the prospect of working together with him at BT. We have accomplished a great deal, but there is still much more work to be done building BT’s global presence and ensuring that the UK stays at the forefront of the broadband revolution. Throughout his career Michael has demonstrated both dynamism and vision. These are qualities that will help BT succeed through the next phase of its transformation.”
Rake is on the Board of the Prince of Wales’ International Business Leaders Forum and is also chairman of Business in the Community.
Earlier in the month, BT released its Q3 2006 results which showed that its revenue rose 5% to £5,126 million (see BT Sees 5% Revenue Rise In Q3).
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