{"id":729,"date":"2026-06-04T21:14:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T21:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=729"},"modified":"2026-06-04T21:14:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T21:14:57","slug":"bts-ceo-is-bringing-football-logic-to-britains-digital-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=729","title":{"rendered":"BT\u2019s CEO is bringing football logic to Britain\u2019s digital future"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As CEO of BT, the\u00a0Most Powerful Women honoree\u00a0is overseeing one of the biggest infrastructure transformations in the U.K., from fiber expansion to the country\u2019s shift away from legacy landlines. But she is also trying to make a deeply technical business feel culturally relevant again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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This\u00a0ambition is what\u00a0lies behind BT\u2019s growing number of major sporting partnerships, most recently with UEFA.\u00a0For Kirkby, these flagship moments that bring together millions of people are more than simple branding exercises; they are\u00a0live\u00a0demonstrations of the power and reliability of the digital networks underpinning modern life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve always been the connectivity\u00a0providers,\u201d she says. \u201cFrom the 2012 Olympics to the Queen\u2019s funeral\u2014these are big events that unite the nation.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a great way\u00a0to show people: \u2018if\u00a0an organization like\u00a0UEFA trusts\u00a0them to run safe, secure, resilient connectivity for these massive events, then I trust them as well.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

And elite sports have more to offer\u00a0than lucrative\u00a0partnerships,\u00a0they also provide apt metaphors for business performance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think of great sports\u00a0outfits\u00a0both from an individual\u00a0player\u00a0point of view and from a team capability point,\u201d she says.\u00a0In BT\u2019s case, the \u201cindividual players\u201d are the company\u2019s four brands: BT, EE, Plusnet and Openreach. As CEO, she must\u00a0operate\u00a0like\u00a0a football manager, deciding where the team needs greater investment and where to pull back.\u00a0(When I joke that she is the Gareth Southgate of telecoms, Glasgow-born Kirkby\u00a0replies that she sees herself more as an Alex\u00a0Ferguson).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn recent years, we\u2019ve probably over-emphasized investment in EE as a brand\u00a0and \u00a325 billion has gone into the fiber and mobile networks,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u00a0have\u00a0relatively underinvested\u00a0in BT and in the business segment. Now\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0investing in BT as a brand to\u00a0strengthen those parts of my team so we can get the best value out of the investment\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0put into the networks and EE.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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To borrow from the sporting world again, Kirkby describes the strategy thus: \u201cThe networks provide all the defense the team needs\u2014now we need a few more strikers to win a few more matches.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The stakes, of course, are a bit higher than those of a football match\u2014whatever fans may think.\u00a0Kirkby and BT\u00a0are responsible for\u00a0making the U.K.\u2019s digital future possible.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe need to ensure that the U.K. has the best quality\u00a0networks\u00a0so the country is powered in the best possible way,\u201d says Kirkby. \u201cYou can\u2019t evolve technologically and take advantage of the\u00a0growth potential of AI if you don\u2019t have a brilliant digital backbone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The challenge, she says, is that for years there has been\u00a0too much focus on competition and not enough incentive to invest in infrastructure. As a result, Britain\u2019s digital infrastructure is\u00a0deeply fragmented, with\u00a0a large number of\u00a0companies involved\u00a0in its running. \u201cFragmentation brings resilience risk,\u201d she says. \u201cThe countries with the best digital infrastructure\u00a0probably have\u00a0three key players in fiber and mobile.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0what the U.K. will need over time.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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And as a telecoms CEO, Kirkby sees her role as far greater than simply ensuring success for BT. \u201cWe all have to take responsibility for providing critical national infrastructure,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u201cWe have to shift the country onto modern-day technologies.\u201d This includes shutting down the landline telephone system by January 2027,\u00a0but also helping the communities that rely on it\u00a0to learn\u00a0the digital skills they will need in the future, from online banking to booking doctors\u2019 appointments digitally.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Doing this means lobbying for the industry\u00a0as a whole to\u00a0pull together.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m very focused on having a market structure that ensures this fundamental infrastructure is well invested in and that those taking the risk of investment are getting a fair return.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This responsibility is one Kirkby takes very seriously,\u00a0and her approach to it\u00a0offers\u00a0a clear reason\u00a0why\u00a0her place on this year\u2019s Most Powerful Women list was so well deserved.\u00a0When it comes to being \u201cpowerful,\u201d\u00a0she says:\u00a0\u201cYou need to show you\u2019re making an impact, which is\u00a0clearly easier when you\u2019re in a scale business\u2014particularly in telco, I could have a lot of negative impact if I\u2019m not careful.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So far,\u00a0this worry would seem to be completely without foundation. Since\u00a0Kirkby\u00a0took the\u00a0helm in February 2024,\u00a0BT\u2019s stock has more than\u00a0doubled and the company posted fiscal year 2026 pretax profits of\u00a0roughly\u00a0$1.9 billion.\u00a0Nevertheless, she will not be\u00a0resting on her laurels. \u201cInfluence is something you only build through delivering on your promises, being a thought leader\u00a0and taking your stakeholders on a journey with you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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If Kirkby succeeds, BT will\u00a0achieve\u00a0something few telecom companies ever truly\u00a0manage:\u00a0becoming\u00a0not just part of the country\u2019s infrastructure, but of how the country imagines its future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Allison Kirkby explains why telecoms needs cultural relevance, stronger infrastructure investment, and leadership that delivers real impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bt-group"],"yoast_head":"\nBT\u2019s CEO is bringing football logic to Britain\u2019s digital future - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=729\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BT\u2019s CEO is bringing football logic to Britain\u2019s digital future - 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