Clive Selley, currently the CEO of BT Technology, Service and Operations (BT TSO), has been appinted as the new CEO of Openreach, the group’s wholesale networking business. Selley replaces Joe Garner who will be taking charge of the Nationwide Building Society. Selley will take up his new post before the end of March.
Openreach is responsible for the installation and upkeep of the majority of the UK’s broadband connections and has been at the heart of controversy over how the country’s digital infrastructure is managed. Appointing a BT insider rather than someone from the wider infrastructure industry may prove to be a problem for BT, as it faces a review by communications regulator Ofcom.
In a statement today BT said that Selley was “one of the UK’s foremost experts in network technology and digital infrastructure. He has held numerous senior positions at BT, both in the UK and overseas. He has specialized in networks, software development, IT and various forms of engineering.”
Selley is BT Group’s Chief Information Officer and CEO of BT TSO which is responsible for the company’s global core networks and IT systems as well as its research and development arm. He also chairs BT’s cyber security council.
Selley takes over at a turbulent time for Openreach, with Ofcom’s long-awaited review about to be published this year. There has been much speculation that Ofcom will demand the separation of Openreach from its parent company. There are many organisations in the UK which say that Openreach gives BT unfair preference in access to exchanges and other operational broadband matters.
Taking the UK from a superfast nation to an ultrafast one
Selley has overseen BT’s growth, the construction of the fiber broadband network and the research into G.Fast technology.
Speaking today, he said: “I am honoured to have been asked to lead Openreach at this important point in its history. The huge investment it has made over the past decade has made the UK a broadband leader, and we need to build on those foundations by deploying fibre to further communities and by rolling out ultrafast broadband.
”Customer service is a top priority of mine and I am committed to delivering further improvements by working closely with all industry partners who rely on our network to serve their customers.
“Openreach is at the heart of the UK economy with our open access network underpinning a ferociously competitive broadband market. That has benefited consumers and businesses greatly.
“The engineers are the lifeblood of Openreach and I have been hugely impressed by their tireless work in challenging circumstances during the current floods. They will play a crucial role in the coming decade as they have done to date”.
Gavin Patterson, BT Group CEO said: “Clive is a hugely talented individual and I am delighted he has agreed to lead Openreach. He has an unrivalled knowledge of networks and engineering and is ideally suited to take the UK from a superfast nation to an ultrafast one. He supports our vision for the UK’s digital future and will play a key role in ensuring that businesses, consumers and communities receive the services they need and deserve.”