By James Gant For Mailonline
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A controversial former boss of the FA, ITV and Royal Mail has been appointed the next chairman of BT – and will bag £700,000 a year.
Adam Crozier replaces Jan du Plessis, who quit not long after reports of a boardroom bust-up with chief executive Philip Jansen over the direction of the telecoms giant.
The businessman will also step down from his position as chairman of online fashion giant Asos as he takes on the role from December 1, following a month’s transition.
He will remain chairman of Premier Inn owner Whitbread but will also step down as a non-executive of Sony, to avoid risks of so-called ‘overboarding’ – where a director can be accused of taking on too many boardroom roles.
Mr Crozier has headed a string of Britain’s largest companies but not without controversy.
Adam Crozier (pictured) replaces Jan du Plessis, who quit not long after reports of a boardroom bust-up with chief executive Philip Jansen over the direction of BT
As chief executive of The Football Association from 2000 he was accused of acting beyond his brief and a lack of consultation.
He also adopted the term ‘Golden Generation’, which was blasted by fans for being undeserved and players for raising expectations too high.
The businessman left after two years and joined the Royal Mail in 2003, where he was also embroiled in problems.
He shut down around 5,800 local branches of Post Offices and sacked staff to turn the money-losing firm around.
Despite this slashing of the workforce, the ruthless cost cutter was paid £3million in 2007 – which was panned by unions as ‘outrageous’.
During his tenure the price of a first-class stamp also jumped up by 14p to a record 41p.
Even though he has taken on some of the most prominent business roles in the country, Mr Crozier has previously admitted he hates publicity and is ‘softly spoken’.
The Scotsman told the Guardian in 2007: ‘I hate it, absolutely hate it. The bizarre thing about the last three jobs I’ve done is that I don’t like [the public profile] at all.’
He added: ‘I will go to enormous lengths not to do public things – because it is just not me.’
Mr Crozier called the BT (pictured, its London office) appointment, which comes with a £700,000 a year salary, ‘an honour’
Mr Crozier called the BT appointment, which comes with a £700,000 a year salary, ‘an honour’.
He added: ‘BT is a hugely important company, with a critical role to play in building the digital networks and services to support the UK’s future.
‘I look forward to working with the board, Philip and his executive team to create value for all our stakeholders.’
Outgoing chair Mr du Plessis said: ‘Chairing the board of BT over the past four years has been a tremendous privilege.
‘BT is a truly unique and special business and what this company does really matters to so many people.’
Mr Crozier, 57, was born and raised on the Isle of Bute off Scotland by a father who worked for Lord Bute and a mother who worked for the Scotsman newspaper.
He started his education at a school in Ayr before he moved to the comprehensive Graeme High School in Falkirk.
During his school days he was a keen footballer and had trials for Hibernian and Stirling Albion.
From here he went to Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and gained a BA in business organisation. In 2005 the university gave him an honorary doctorate.
Mr Crozier met his wife Annette during his first notable job at Saatchi and Saatchi and they have two children.
Outgoing chair Mr du Plessis (pictured) said: ‘Chairing the board of BT over the past four years has been a tremendous privilege’
But he shot to fame as chief executive of the FA in 2000, before becoming a non-executive across several companies.
The businessman was responsible for appointing the first foreign manager of the England team – Sven-Göran Eriksson.
He subsequently went on to run Royal Mail, turning it profitable and preparing the ground work for a stock market listing three years after his departure.
Mr Crozier then turned his hand to running a media empire, when he spent seven years with ITV.
Mr Jansen said: ‘I am delighted to welcome Adam to BT and I really look forward to working with him as we target returning BT to consistent growth.’
The company was forced to play down reports earlier this year suggesting the chief executive had fallen out with Mr du Plessis over the direction of BT’s turnaround.
Mr Crozier will be expected to help oversee the £12billion spending plans on full-fibre broadband to 20million homes in the UK no later than the end of the decade.
He must maintain good relations with the regulator – the same watchdog responsible for overseeing ITV – and is likely to offer his expertise on BT TV services.
The new chairman will also need to manage the expectations of BT’s new biggest shareholder, the billionaire owner of Sotheby’s auction house, Patrick Drahi, who bought a 12.1 per cent stake in June.
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