BT broadband chief goes as role comes to ‘natural end’

BT broadband chief Alison Ritchie is leaving the company after it decided to scrap her role.

Ritchie, who has worked for the company for 24 years, will go at the end of September, having been chief broadband officer for three years.

She was appointed to the position in November 2002, and was responsible for increasing availability and take-up of BT’s broadband service. Now that the service is fully established, Ritchie says her role has come to a “natural end”.

Ritchie is planning to take a year off to travel. Her responsibilities will be taken on by BT’s retail and wholesale departments.

Ritchie is a former chief executive of BT Openworld. She also led the teams that delivered BT’s financial restructuring in 2001, including the demerger of O2.

She says: “My last role was all about championing broadband, both within and outside BT, and I’m proud that the broadband market is now so well established. This means that my specific role has come to a natural end so I’ve decided it’s time to do something different.”

The UK has the best ADSL broadband availability of all G8 member countries, with more than 99.6 per cent of UK homes and businesses connected to ADSL-enabled exchanges.