Gavin Patterson
Gavin Echlin Patterson (born 6 September 1967) is a British marketer who is the UK chief executive of Salesforce. He was chief executive of BT Group plc from September 2013 to January 2019. Before joining BT, he worked for Telewest and Procter & Gamble. He is the president of the Advertising Association.
Gavin Patterson | |
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Patterson speaking at Chatham House in 2016 | |
Born | Altrincham, England | 6 September 1967
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
Occupation | Businessman |
Title | CEO, BT Group plc |
Term | September 2013 - December 2018 |
Predecessor | Ian Livingston |
Successor | Philip Jansen |
Spouse(s) | Karen |
Children | 4 |
Early life
He was born in Altrincham in 1967, and attended schools in Warrington and Yeovil.[1][2][3] He graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.[1]
Career
He was European head of marketing at Procter & Gamble for their Pantene line of hair products.[4][5] In 2000, he joined the cable company Telewest, managing their television services. In 2004, he moved to BT to be the managing director of their consumer division. He launched BT Vision which provided on-demand TV and subsequently was responsible for their broadband offerings such as the optical fibre service, BT Infinity.[4] At BT, his management style was a mix of relaxed, stylish marketing with aggressive cost-cutting. He was known for his flamboyant appearance of romantic black hair and open shirt collars.[4] The previous chief executive, Ian Livingston, said of him, "...one button undone was fine, two was a bit racy, and three was Gavin."[4] This marketing-executive style was novel and successful in the conservative corporate culture of BT and, as a high-flyer, he joined the board of BT in 2008.[1][4]
BT
He was appointed chief executive of the BT Group in 2013 to replace Ian Livingston who was ennobled to join the government as Baron Livingston of Parkhead and Minister of State for Trade and Investment.[6]
In August 2013, he was ranked as number 26 in The Guardian's Media 100 2013 – a listing of "the most powerful people in television, radio, newspapers, magazines, digital media, media business, advertising, marketing and PR"; it was his first appearance in this list.[7] In December 2013, Computer Weekly ranked him as number 8 in its UKtech50 for 2013 — "the most influential people in UK IT".[8]
He was BT's representative on the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)'s Climate Change Board,[9] 2008-[2013], and joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)'s Executive Committee[10] effective 1 January 2015, after the company joined WBCSD in April 2014.[11]
On 25 October 2018, it was announced that Philip Jansen, the outgoing CEO of Worldpay, would succeed him as CEO of BT, with effect from 1 February 2019, as "a change of leadership was needed".[12]
Other interests
He is a fellow of the Marketing Society and a member of the Thirty Club for advertising professionals.[18] He was appointed president of the Advertising Association in 2011.[19] He is a non-executive director of British Airways,[20] a trustee of the British Museum, and is on the board of Cambridge Judge Business School.[21][22]
Personal life
His wife, Karen, is a fashion marketer who worked for Donna Karan.[4]
He has supported Liverpool Football Club since his early years in nearby Warrington.[4]
References
- Gibson, Owen (11 November 2013). "Gavin Patterson: the man behind BT Sport's Champions League raid". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- Chris Barry (20 June 2013), Altrincham-born Patterson to lead BT, The Business Desk
- Rupert Neate (16 January 2010), "BT's Gavin Patterson: Sky's football claims don't wash with me", Daily Telegraph
- Daniel Thomas (15 November 2013), "Gavin Patterson: Betting big against Murdoch", Financial Times
- Johnson, Branwell (16 June 2011). "BT's Gavin Patterson named as AA president". Marketing Week. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- Ashton, James (20 June 2013), "BT chief Ian Livingston quits to join Coalition Government as Gavin Patterson is brought in", The Independent
- "26. Gavin Patterson", Media Guardian 100 2013, The Guardian, 1 September 2013
- "8. Gavin Patterson, CEO, BT", UKtech50 2013 – the most influential people in UK IT, Computer Weekly, 4 December 2013
- Trustee Gavin Patterson
- WBCSD Executive Committee
- BT joins WBCSD news release
- "BT appoints Worldpay's Philip Jansen as new chief executive". BBC. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- "Fractal- Former BT CEO Gavin Patterson Joins Board of Directors". AiThority. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- McCaskill, Steve; Moore, Mike; Internet, Desire Athow 2019-11-19T09:32:36Z. "Mobile industry and tech channel moves for November 2019". TechRadar. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- "Former BT CEO Gavin Patterson becomes Elixirr Chair". www.consultancy.uk. 15 November 2019.
- "Solon Management Consulting appoints Gavin Patterson". www.consultancy.uk. 11 December 2019.
- "Tech firm Purple WiFi recruit former BT chief executive Gavin Patterson". mobilenewscwp.co.uk.
- "Executive Profile: Gavin E. Patterson". Bloomberg Businessweek.
- "Council". The Advertising Association.
- Gavin Echlin Patterson works at BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC since 01 February 2011 currently as a Director - http://www.cbetta.com/director/gavin-echlin-patterson-3
- "Trustee: Mr Gavin Patterson". The British Museum.
- Gavin Patterson to be appointed chief executive of BT Group, BT plc, 19 June 2013
External links
- Gavin Patterson Chief Executive, BT profile
Business positions | ||
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Preceded by Ian Livingston |
Chief Executive of BT Group September 2013 – December 2018 |
Succeeded by Philip Jansen |