Artley, who spent 13 years at Level 3 Communications followed by five months at Equinix, had been with BT for six and a half years, becoming president of the group’s operation there four years ago, when Bas Burger moved to London to head the company’s troubled Global Services operation.
Based in Denver, she “led BT’s entire Americas team in the United States, Canada and Latin America”. She also “ran a global sales vertical focused on technology, life sciences and business services customers”, according to her LinkedIn entry, which she updated on Sunday to show her move to Verizon.
BT has not responded to questions from Capacity about whether her departure marks a changed policy towards the Americas. Capacity also put those questions to Burger and Artley, but neither has replied.
Since Burger became CEO of what was BT Global Services in June 2017 a number of significant people have left. In November 2018 Damien Staples left the company, where he was VP of wholesale voice and roaming, following a reorganisation of the division’s business. His job was absorbed into that of Dallas-based Dave Disley, who is the company’s VP of telecommunications and indirect channels.
That change reflected Burger’s new policy, as explained two years ago to Capacity in an interview, to shift the division to growth sectors and to park traditional areas such as voice in the legacy category.
Meanwhile what used to be BT Global Services but is now Global, BT, has sold off a large chunk of Artley’s former Latin American territory. CIH Technology Holdings bought the business in 16 countries in the region last year for an undisclosed price. It now operates under the name Sencinet.
BT’s operation in the Americas has not been affected by the scandal that hit BT Global Services in Europe, where the group’s former CFO, Hanif Lalani, who was also later a CEO of BT Global Services, was successfully prosecuted in France for insider trading.
Separately, BT had to write off £530 million lost in its Italian operation of Global Services. Then then CEO of BT Global Services, Luis Alvarez, stepped down in 2017 to be replaced by Burger.
Update: Artley commented to Capacity by email: "It was a personal decision based on the opportunity that presented itself. Nothing more to read into!"
