Deutsche Telekom CIO Peter Leukert (pictured) is set to join UK operator BT Group at the start of September to head-up its digital division, the unit charged with driving its modernisation push.
The executive will take over the role of chief digital officer from BT’s networks and security boss Howard Watson, who has been running the unit on an interim basis since the departure of chief digital and innovation officer Harmeen Mehta in 2024.
As the name suggests, BT Digital leads the company’s digital transformation efforts, including updating internal and external systems to embrace modern technologies.
In a statement, BT credited Leukert with leading a “significant and successful transformation” of Deutsche Telekom’s “IT and digital platforms, products and services”, noting he was a “contributor to the customer experience-led transformation” which fuelled the German operator’s “recent growth”.
BT CEO Allison Kirkby said Leukert joins at “an exciting time as we focus on simultaneously investing in the UK’s leading fixed and mobile networks while transforming our operations to radically improve how we serve our customers”.
Leukert added: “I’m thrilled to be joining BT. The opportunity to transform and simplify BT’s operations will improve customer outcomes and drive sustainable business growth”.
The executive has spent more than eight years as Deutsche Telekom CIO and previously held roles at McKinsey & Co, Commerzbank and the New York Stock Exchange.