The former boss of O2 is in the running to take replace Gavin Patterson at BT, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Ronan Dunne, who was also a Business Matters columnist, joined telecoms giant Verizon two years ago after more than a decade in senior roles at O2, had discussions with BT while spending time in Britain recently, sources told the paper.
Dunne was a major figure in expanding O2 into one of the UK’s biggest telecoms companies. His potential move comes after Verizon announced that its chief technology officer would become chief executive.
BT has been on the hunt for a new boss since June, after chairman Jan du Plessis asked Patterson to step down following a sustained fall in its share price. Patterson’s tenure has been marked by a sustained battle against regulators around its control of Openreach, BT’s network arm.
The new appointee will be expected to carry forward BT’s current strategy, and to improve staff morale following a series of setbacks including 13,000 job cuts.
Other rumoured candidates include include Dominique Leroy of Belgian telecoms operator Proximus, the Telegraph said. BT and Dunne both did not reply to requests for comment.
