BT builds up Openreach board to reestablish 'trust and credibility'

BT announced on Wednesday that Openreach had appointed Sir Brendan Barber and Edward Astle as independent members of its newly formed board, created as part of an Ofcom-guided strategy to improve autonomy and independence at the telecoms infrastructure firm.

The FTSE 100 company said Barber, former general secretary of the Trades Union Congress and current chair of Acas, and Astle, a former board member of National Grid, attended the inaugural meeting of the Openreach board on Tuesday.

Mike McTighe was appointed independent chairman of Openreach in December 2016, and a fourth independent non-executive was due to be announced imminently with a specific focus on customer service.

BT said establishing the new board was central to the governance reforms that Openreach has been implementing to become a more transparent and autonomous business.

The reorganisation programme will create increased operational and management independence for Openreach, it added.

“Openreach's network and connectivity underpins Britain's digital economy and we know that our customers have very high expectations of us,” McTighe said.

“I understand that customers sometimes feel let down by Openreach because we haven't always delivered the service they expect or that we hope to provide.

“We have made a lot of progress since Clive Selley joined as CEO a year ago - for example on halving the number of missed appointments, making our fibre network available to millions more people and accelerating our plan to introduce a new generation of ultrafast technology.”

However, McTighe said the division needs to do more to re-build trust and credibility.

“This will be the board's focus and we are currently in consultation with BT Group about agreeing the plan to deliver better service, broader coverage and faster speeds for consumers and businesses across the country.

“We are determined to meet our customers' expectations and to strengthen the autonomy, governance and transparency of Openreach to facilitate the delivery of better outcomes for everyone that has a stake in our business.”

The board will be responsible for setting Openreach's strategy and overseeing its performance, making sure it treats all customers equally whilst investing in better service, broader coverage and faster broadband speeds for the entire UK.

It will have an independent majority whose appointments have been discussed with Ofcom.

BT confirmed that Clive Selley, Openreach chief executive; Clare Sadlier, Openreach chief finance officer; and Simon Lowth, BT group finance director will also join the Openreach board.

Selley will report to the Openreach chairman, with accountability to the BT chief executive on issues relating to the group's responsibilities as a publicly listed company.

To further strengthen governance, BT said Openreach will establish committees needed to operate to the highest standards of corporate governance.

In particular, a new Openreach board audit, risk and compliance committee (OBARCC) will be established.

The OBARCC will reportedly hold the business to account and regularly hear representations from customers, as well as conducting an annual review of Openreach compliance and publish its findings.