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BT chief executive takes up role of trade minister for no pay(Guardian (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The chief executive of BT is leaving the telecoms firm to take up the role of trade and investment minister in the government - but he will not be paid. Ian Livingston, 48, says he has already been "well rewarded" during more than a decade as director of one of the biggest companies on the stock market. Livingston, who will take a seat in the House of Lords, is a surprise replacement for the former HSBC chairman Lord Green, who quit the bank to join the coalition in 2011 and is approaching retirement. In the last months in his role, Green has faced questions about what he knew about US Senate revelations that HSBC branches were used to launder money for drug cartels and pariah states - activity which led to a record pounds 1.2bn fine for the bank. But this controversy was said to be unrelated to his departure and David Cameron yesterday paid tribute to him for bringing in investment for projects such as Battersea power station. Green will leave his post in early December. Livingston's new globetrotting mission to promote UK trade and attract inward investment is considered one of the most senior ministerial jobs below cabinet level. His appointment was announced by Cameron during prime minister's questions yesterday. Livingston, who is also a director of Celtic football club, leaves BT in September and will join the Lords as a Conservative life peer. The son of a Glasgow GP, Livingston's talent was spotted early by the Dixons chairman Sir Stanley Kalms, who made him the youngest FTSE 100 finance director at the age of 32. He joined BT in the same role, and became chief executive in June 2008. He earned over pounds 16m in his last two years at BT as incentive schemes bore fruit. "I'm clearly not in it for the money," he said of his new job. "It's a fascinating role and I can make a difference." His departure comes ahead of the publication next month of a National Audit Office report which is expected to raise questions about the process which has seen BT win every contract so far awarded to extend Britain's broadband network into rural areas. The company's shares, which have risen from a nadir of 75p to 300p under Livingston's leadership, initially tumbled 3.5% on news of his departure. (c) 2013 Guardian Newspapers Limited. |