Allison Kirkby

Allison Kirkby (born 1967) is a British businesswoman who has been the chief executive of BT Group since February 2024. She had earlier led the Swedish telecoms companies Tele2 and Telia, and the Danish company TDC.

Early life and education Kirkby was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1967, and grew up there. On leaving school, she worked as a trainee accountant in the Scotch whisky industry.

Career Kirkby qualified as a chartered management accountant in 1990 while working at Guinness. She worked at Procter & Gamble for 20 years before entering the telecoms industry with Virgin Media. In 2020, Kirkby became chief executive of Telia Company, Sweden's largest telecoms provider of which 40% is owned by the state.

In August 2023, BT Group announced Kirkby's appointment as chief executive officer, to succeed Philip Jansen in February 2024 as the first woman to hold the position. As chief executive, Kirkby would be responsible for the £15 billion rollout of fibre broadband to 25 million homes by 2026 and the cutting of up to 55,000 jobs by 2030.

Personal life Kirkby is married with two children, a daughter and a son. She splits her time between homes in Stockholm, Sweden and Windsor, England.