BT picks Clive Selley as new boss for controversial Openreach arm

BT has appointed an insider, Clive Selley, as the next chief executive of Openreach, the network business that rivals are campaigning to have split out of the telecoms giant.

Selley, 54, is currently chief executive of BT technology, service and operations and will take over from Joe Garner, who is leaving to become chief executive of the country’s biggest building society, Nationwide.

The changeover comes just weeks before Sharon White, head of the telecoms watchdog Ofcom, is due to give her initial thoughts on Openreach.

Rivals have criticised BT for the level of service provided by Openreach when it supplies their broadband links to customers and accused it of trying to recreate a monopoly.

White has suggested that she does not see the status quo around the first decade of Openreach’s life continuing in the future.

Selley joined BT’s research and development arm in 1984, rising through the ranks to become its chief information officer. He chairs its cyber security council and is well versed in regulatory affairs.

He said: “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.”

Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT, said: “Clive is a hugely talented individual, has an unrivalled knowledge of networks and engineering and is ideally suited to take the UK from a superfast nation to an ultrafast one.”