Openreach has appointed Andrew Barron as a non-executive member of its board, effective from 1 June.
Andrew is currently deputy chair of Tele2, the Swedish telecoms operator, and has had a long career in telecoms and media, with his most recent operating role as COO of Virgin Media up to its sale to Liberty Global in 2013. He will be joining the board as an independent director on 1 June 2020.
He will replace Sir Brendan Barber, who was appointed at the board’s inception in January 2017 and will step down on 31 May 2020, having completed over three years as an independent board member.
Mike McTighe, chairman at Openreach, said: ‘Brendan has played a critical part in establishing the new governance at Openreach, and has been a strong voice on the Board as we have established Openreach as a limited company, responsible for 33,000 employees. Three years into the board’s establishment, and as we continue to ramp up our ambitions to deliver fibre across the nation, this change to the board reflects the more operational nature of our ongoing focus.
‘With extensive telecommunications experience in both executive and non-executive roles, Andrew is well placed to provide expertise and challenge to our discussions and will be invaluable as Openreach continues to ramp up its full fibre broadband rollout. While we are sorry to say goodbye to Brendan, and thank him for his contribution over the last three years, we are delighted to announce Andrew’s appointment to the board.’
The Board was established as one of a number of governance changes made at Openreach to bolster its transparency and autonomy.