Philip Jansen

British businessman (born 1967)

Philip Jansen

Born|  (1967-01-28) 28 January 1967 (age 58)[1]

United Kingdom[1]

Nationality| British[1]
Education| University College Cardiff
Occupation| Businessman
Title| Ex-CEO, BT Group
Term| February 2019- January 2024
Predecessor| Gavin Patterson
Successor| Allison Kirkby
Spouse| Married
Children| 5

Philip Eric Rene Jansen (born January 1967)[1] is a British businessman and the former chief executive of BT from February 2019 to January 2024. He has been the chair of WPP plc since September 2024.

## Early life

[edit]

Jansen attended St George's College, Weybridge, and has a bachelor's degree in economics from University College Cardiff.[2]

## Career

[edit]

In 2010, Jansen joined Brakes Group as CEO, having been chief operations officer of Sodexo.[3]

Following the Worldpay IPO in 2015 by its then private equity owners, Bain Capital and Advent International, Jansen was due to receive £50 million.[4]

On 19 September 2018, Worldpay announced that Jansen would step down at the end of the year.[5]

On 25 October 2018 he was announced as the new chief executive of BT with effect from 1 February 2019, succeeding Gavin Patterson.[6]

During his tenure at BT Group, an industrial dispute began with the CWU due to pay and working conditions.[7] This led to a strike ballot where 91.5% of BT, 95.8% of Openreach and 95.5% of EE CWU members who took part in the ballot voted to strike.[8] During the dispute, some employees and commentators referred to him as “Foodbank Phil”.[9]

In July 2023, it was announced that Jansen would be stepping down as chief executive of BT within the next 12 months.[10]

In July 2024, Jansen was announced as the chair of WPP.[11][12] He formally joined the company's board in September 2024.[11]

## Personal life

[edit]

Jansen is married, with five children, and lives in west London.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Philip Eric Rene JANSEN". Companies House. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
2. ^ "Executive Profile: Philip E. R. Jansen". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
3. ^ "Philip Jansen joins Brakes Group as group chief executive". The Caterer. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
4. ^ Caroline Binham (20 September 2015). "Worldpay chief Philip Jansen to receive £500m from flotation". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
5. ^ Erin Caproni (19 September 2018). "Worldpay co-CEO to exit". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
6. ^ "BT appoints Worldpay's Philip Jansen as new chief executive". BBC. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
7. ^ "BT Faces Summer of Strike Disruption Over BT Pay Inaction". CWU. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
8. ^ "BT staff vote for first national strike in 35 years". the Guardian. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
9. ^ "Rank hypocrisy on executive pay laid bare as BT Group industrial action ballot enters final week". CWU. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
10. ^ Prescott, Katie (11 July 2023). "BT chief Philip Jansen to step down in next 12 months". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
11. ^ a b Thomas, Daniel; Massoudi, Arash (29 July 2024). "WPP names former BT boss Philip Jansen as new chair". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
12. ^ "WPP appoints Philip Jansen as Non-Executive Chair of the Board | WPP". www.wpp.com. Retrieved 10 June 2025.

Business positions

Preceded by

Gavin Patterson

|  Chief Executive of BT Group
2019–2024  | Succeeded by

Allison Kirkby

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