BT, the British telecoms and television broadcasting company, said Friday that its chief executive Gavin Patterson would depart his role later this year, following shareholder unrest over the group's outlook. "The board is fully supportive of the strategy recently set out by Gavin and his team," BT chairman Jan du Plessis said in a company statement.
He added however that "broader reaction" to recent results "demonstrated to Gavin and me that there is a need for a change of leadership to deliver this strategy". BT last month said it plans to axe thousands more jobs to slash costs and move out of its historic London headquarters. BT has in recent years launched a costly push into broadcasting live Premier League football matches, hurting the group's bottom line.