BT Group Newsroom

Simon Lowth to retire as BT’s Group CFO, with Patricia Cobian appointed as successor

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:00:00 +0100

BT Group plc announces today that after nine years as Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Simon Lowth plans to retire from the business. As part of an orderly succession plan and following a comprehensive global search, BT has appointed Patricia Cobian to succeed him.

Patricia is currently CFO at Virgin Media O2. She will join the BT Group Board and its Executive Committee in the summer of next year (2026), with Simon to retire following a managed handover. BT will announce the date of Patricia’s appointment in due course.

Allison Kirkby, BT Group Chief Executive, said: “I am thrilled that Patricia is going to be joining BT next year. Her leadership, deep industry experience and knowledge will be invaluable, as we continue our once-in-a-generation upgrade of the UK’s digital infrastructure and accelerate BT’s modernisation.

“As he prepares for retirement, I’d like to thank Simon for his outstanding contribution to BT over so many years – and on a more personal note, for his wise counsel and partnership to me. His leadership has played a major part in our strategy and transformation to date, as we become a better BT for our customers, our colleagues, the country and our owners.”

Adam Crozier, BT Group Chairman, said: “Patricia is a highly experienced, transformative telco leader, and she will be an excellent addition to the BT Group Board and the business. On behalf of all of us here, I also want to join Allison in offering heartfelt thanks to Simon for his unwavering commitment over the last nine years. His impact has been profound, and we wish him all the best for his upcoming retirement.”

Patricia Cobian said: “I am excited to join BT at such a critical point in the company’s transformation, and I look forward to working with Allison, Adam and the Board to continue to drive growth and value for BT’s customers, shareholders and the UK.”

There are no additional matters that would require disclosure in respect of Patricia Cobian or pursuant to 9.6.13R of the Listing Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

About Patricia Cobian

Patricia Cobian brings deep experience from a distinguished career across the UK and European telecoms sector. She played a key role in the 2020 merger of Virgin Media and O2 and has served as CFO of Virgin Media O2 since its launch in June 2021.

Previously, Patricia was CFO of O2 UK from 2016 and served on the Supervisory Board of Telefónica Deutschland from 2012 to 2020, where she led multiple M&A transactions and strategic partnerships.

Earlier in her career, she spent seven years at McKinsey & Company across London, New York and Madrid, focusing on TMT and corporate finance. She joined O2 in 2006, holding senior roles in European Strategy, Business Development and as Chief of Staff, before being appointed Strategy and Transformation Director and joining the O2 UK Executive Committee in 2014.

Patricia holds an MSc in Industrial Engineering from ICAI – Comillas Pontifical University. She is married with three teenage children.

BT Group plc Board changes

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

BT Group plc (“BT Group”) hereby announces that Maggie Chan Jones and Ruth Cairnie will be joining its Board as independent non-executive directors. Maggie joins the Board effective 1 March 2023 and as a member of the Nominations and Digital Impact & Sustainability Committees. Ruth joins the Board effective 6 April 2023 and as a member of the Audit & Risk, Remuneration and Nominations Committees.

Iain Conn will step down from the Board as a non-executive director at the conclusion of the 2023 Annual General Meeting in July after serving on the Board for 9 years, Ruth will succeed Iain as Senior Independent Director.

Adam Crozier, BT Group’s Chairman said “Iain has been a great asset to the Board in his role as Senior Independent Director and I would like to thank him wholeheartedly for his significant contribution to BT Group and personal support to me”.

As previously announced, Sir Ian Cheshire will also step down from the Board as a non-executive director at the conclusion of the 2023 Annual General Meeting in July and Ruth will succeed Ian as Remuneration Committee Chair.

Ruth has extensive experience gained from a broad range of executive and non-executive roles at leading industrial companies, both in the UK and Internationally. Ruth was formerly Executive Vice President for Group Strategy & Planning at Royal Dutch Shell plc. She is currently Chair of Babcock International Group plc and Senior Independent Director of Associated British Foods plc.

Maggie is the founder and CEO of Tenshey, a tech-enabled executive coaching company that focuses on elevating more women and underrepresented leaders in leadership roles and the boardroom. This followed a highly successful career in marketing at several of the world's largest technology companies, including Microsoft and SAP.

In welcoming both to the Board, BT Group’s Chairman Adam Crozier said “The Board is delighted to welcome Maggie and Ruth, both of whom will add significant breadth of experience and diversity of thought to the Board. Both will be key in support of the important transformation agenda ahead for BT Group”.

Maggie commented “I’m honoured to join the Board of BT Group, whose purpose to connect for good is essential to the consumers, businesses, and communities it serves. I look forward to applying my experiences in business transformation, marketing, and diversity and inclusion to help BT accelerate its ambition and lead the way to a bright and sustainable future”.

Ruth added “I’m delighted to be joining the BT Board and supporting the company in its ambitious transformation. Successful delivery of BT’s mission will strongly support the transition of economies and societies to a more digitally enabled future and its role is particularly critical for the UK.”

There are no additional matters that would require disclosure in respect of Maggie Chan Jones and Ruth Cairnie or pursuant to 9.6.13R of the Listing Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

- ENDS –

Maggie Chan Jones biography

Maggie is currently a non-executive director of The Sage Group plc and USTA, a non-executive board advisor for Open Systems AG and was previously a non-executive director at Avast plc. She is a recognised executive in business transformation, marketing, and ESG. and frequently recognised as a thought-leader. Maggie was a recipient of industry awards including Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business (2021), Women of the Decade in Marketing, Branding and Communication (2018); Forbes World's Most Influential CMOs (2017); Woman of the Year (2014), among other accolades.

Ruth Cairnie biography

Ruth brings a wealth of experience and was formerly Executive Vice President Strategy & Planning at Royal Dutch Shell plc and has been a Non-Executive Director of Rolls Royce Holdings plc, ContourGlobal plc and Keller Group plc, and a member of the finance committee of the University of Cambridge and the Chair of POWERful Women. She has a Masters of Advanced Studies in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and holds a BSc Joint Honours in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Bristol.

BT Group plc Board and Committee changes

Thu, 12 May 2022 07:00:00 +0100

BT Group plc (“BT Group”) today announced that Leena Nair has decided to step down from the Board as a non-executive director at the conclusion of the 2022 Annual General Meeting (“AGM”), given her increase in executive responsibilities as the Global CEO of Chanel. She will therefore not be put forward for re-election at the 2022 AGM on 14 July, having served on the Board since July 2019.

Adam Crozier, BT Group’s Chairman, said “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Leena for her contribution during her time at BT Group. She has been a distinguished member of the Board and its Remuneration and Nominations Committees, and has chaired our Digital Impact & Sustainability Committee with real vision, resulting in the publication of the BT Group Manifesto.”

Following Leena stepping down, Sara Weller will become chair of the Digital Impact & Sustainability Committee. Sara has been a member of this committee since joining the Board in July 2020.

In line with ongoing succession planning of the Board, we are currently undertaking a search for additional non-executive directors with the support of an external search consultant. As part of this, the diversity of the Board will be addressed as a priority and in any event within FY23.