Ofcom Attempts to Lure Former BT CEO Ben Verwaayen to its Board

The endless debate over whether or not the national UK telecoms regulator will separate BT from control of Openreach has introduced another twist after it was revealed that Ofcom are attempting to lure Ben Verwaayen in for a directorship position on their board.

Ben Verwaayen was CEO of BT Group up until May 2008 when he stepped down in order to take up a similar position at Alcatel-Lucent. Verwaayen is often credited with helping to spread broadband Internet connectivity across the UK and for avoiding a break-up of the operator during Ofcom’s last strategic review (partly through the introduction of local loop unbundling).

However as BT’s CEO he also took some of the blame for various problems at the operators Global Services business. Meanwhile his later attempts to turn Alcatel-Lucent’s financial fortunes around didn’t quite go according to plan (he struggled to restore reliable profitability) and in 2013 he resigned. Last year Nokia stepped in to support Alcatel-Lucent via a merger.

Conspiracy theorists would no doubt suggest that if Ofcom were intending to seek a separation of BT, as a possible outcome from their on-going Strategic Review, then it would help to have one of the operator’s former heavy hitters on-board. On the other hand such a person would surely be a useful asset to have no matter what the outcome.

According to Sky News, the proposed appointment is by no means certain to proceed and neither Ofcom nor Verwaayen were willing to comment on the report. Meanwhile Openreach are still hunting for a replacement CEO after Joe Garner suddenly decided to step down in order to become boss of the Nationwide Building Society (here).

Garner’s tenure was one of the shortest we’ve seen and his decision couldn’t have come at a more pivotal moment for Openreach, which had many people wondering whether he’d simply seen the writing on the wall and got out before the situation worsened. Equally the Nationwide Building Society may have simply head-hunted him out from under BT’s grasp with a more attractive offer.

Officially Garner will exit his post during the coming Spring and we’d expect to see the outcome from Ofcom’s review by around the same time, which could also be roughly when Ben Verwaayen might formally take up a position on Ofcom’s board (assuming he agrees to do so).

One thing is certain, change is coming, although it remains unclear whether that means tougher regulation or Openreach’s separation. Historically Ofcom has preferred the less dramatic approach, but even a middle of the road solution could have a big impact upon BT.