BT Group has named Mike McTighe, a former director of the telecoms regulator Ofcom as the first independent chairman of its broadband infrastructure unit Openreach.
McTighe, who takes up his role from January, is an experienced telecoms executive and regulator who spent eight years on the Board of Ofcom from 2007 to 2015. He will oversee the new Openreach Board – which will operate from early 2017 – and be instrumental in selecting further independent members to join that Board.
He has also held a variety of non-executive roles following an executive career spent largely with Cable and Wireless, Philips, Motorola, and GE. Importantly, he has recent first-hand experience from financial services company Jerrold Holdings (trading as Together) of working in a regulated environment, in a parent/subsidiary structure where both entities have their own Boards, said BT in a statement.
BT announced in July 2016 it would implement governance changes to make Openreach more independent and transparent. Central to these was the creation of an Openreach Board with an independent chairman and a majority of independent members. This Board will be accountable for setting the strategy and overseeing and managing the performance of Openreach, working with CEO Clive Selley and his management team.
Sir Michael Rake, BT Chaiman
I am delighted that Mike has agreed to be the first Chairman of Openreach. He has extensive experience and I am sure Openreach will benefit from his detailed industry and regulatory knowledge.
Mc Tighe, In-coming Chaiman, Openreach
Openreach is at the heart of the digital economy and I am thrilled to take up this important role. A great deal has been achieved over the past decade but it is clear that Openreach needs to up its game on service and regain the trust of the people we serve in the industry and across the UK.
