Marc Allera to step down as CEO of BT’s Consumer Division

BT Group plc has announced that Marc Allera has decided to step down as CEO of its Consumer division, with Claire Gillies to become CEO-Designate and a member of its Executive Committee on 10 December 2024, kicking-off an orderly transition process with Marc.

After nine years with BT Group, Marc will be stepping down as CEO of Consumer on 31 March 2025, following the handover period with Claire. Claire will become CEO of BT Consumer, on April 1.

Allison Kirkby said: “Marc has been an outstanding leader of BT’s Consumer unit, contributing significantly to the company’s growth, and to multiple key initiatives such as leading the team through the integration of EE into BT Group, the creation of the BT Sport joint venture with Warner Bros Discovery, and launching New EE as our lead consumer brand. I am also grateful to Marc for his support to me this year, and for the support I know he’ll give to Claire as they work alongside each other over the next few months. As he moves on beyond BT in the Spring of next year, we all wish him every success.

“I’m delighted to welcome Claire to BT. She brings a wealth of international telecoms experience and has a track record of driving growth in both consumer focused and retail businesses. She will be a brilliant addition to our team as we continue to grow BT’s Consumer division, and EE into the UK’s leading consumer brand for converged connectivity.”

Claire Gillies said: “I am beyond excited to take this role at such an important British company. BT and EE are two of the UK’s most iconic brands leading the industry and connecting people to the things that really matter. I can’t wait to join Allison and the broader BT team as we pursue our mission to become the UK’s most trusted connector of people, devices and machines.”

Marc Allera said: “I’m proud to have led an incredible team through enormous change in the market, and the evolution of the company for the past nine years. In that time we have transformed every aspect of our operations to deliver great service to our 25m customers across the UK, with everything they need for our fast-moving world of technology. We’ve created a fantastic platform for growth, and I wish Claire the very best for the future. While I’m looking forward to the next chapter, I’ll be leaving with great memories of my time at BT and EE, and want to thank every single one of my colleagues who has contributed to our success together.”

Claire has more than 23 years’ experience in telecoms, having worked at Bell Canada since 2000 in a variety of senior leadership roles. Most recently, she was President of Bell Canada’s Wireless and Consumer Divisions where she ran a business generating CA$14bn (c.£8bn) in revenues with more than 8,000 colleagues and over 20 million customer subscriptions.

Claire also ran The Source, Canada’s largest consumer electronics retailer and has a BSC and MBA. She was the winner of the Top Executive award by the Globe and Mail, in addition to Alumni of the Year for McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum Fellow’s Program and proud vice chair of Kids Help Phone, a youth mental health charity. She is also co-chair of their Feel Out Loud Campaign.