Modesty won't forbid new chief from rising to challenge of running BT

Published on Sunday 13 April 2008 21:14

MONDAY PROFILE: IAN LIVINGSTON

SLENDER, with a prominent forehead and perfectly oval head, Ian Livingston seems purpose-built for his bullet-fast rise through the ranks of big business, which last week saw him appointed to BT's top slot at the ripe young age of 43.

But morphology isn't destiny; it's what's inside that counts – in this case ambition and smarts allied to an undimmed excitement about heading into work each day, tethered to a core of modesty that's a sharp contrast to the Trumps and Sugars of this world. The guy even answers e-mails.

No-one evinced surprise on hearing that he was the board's unanimous choice to settle into the executive swivel chair vacated by Ben Verwaayen. With October's departure of Andy Green, his top internal rival, Livingston was a shoo-in, and the phrase "safe pair of hands" featured in every article marking his promotion. Sir Mike Rake, BT's chairman, assured reporters that Livingston would "continue to deliver on a proven strategy".

"My dad's almost as proud of me as if I'd become a doctor," jokes the man himself, speaking at a speed that makes his trajectory through the ranks seem sedate. He quips that he's always been a disappointment to his GP dad, who tended the sick of Glasgow's east end.

The family lived on the other side of town, in affluent Kelvinside, a neighbourhood that's never mentioned without the adjective "leafy". Ian is the youngest, born at the end of July in 1964. One of his older brothers is a sheriff, the other an accountant, while his London-based sister is a professor of psychiatry.

If following in his father's footsteps never appealed, the impulse toward business still runs through his bloodline. His great-grandparents hail from Lithuania and Poland. His father was the first in the family to attend university, but all his forbears were in business "one way or t'other". One grandfather had a factory that manufactured flying jackets, another was a salesman and his uncle was chairman of Coats Viyella.

Perhaps spurred on by Kelvinside Academy's motto, "ever to be the best", as a schoolboy Livingston won the Scotland-wide Royal Bank of Scotland share investment tournament. The trick was turning a notional 10,000 into 30,000 in just six months, a performance he'd love to replicate in real life.

Leaving the academy at 16 with eight O levels and five Highers, he went to Manchester University, earning his BA in Economics by the time he was 19. (Another of the university's notable economics graduates is Joseph E Stiglitz.)

That same year Livingston met his wife, Debbie, then a chiropody student. They've been together ever since, married for 21 of those years. Their children, Alastair and Emma, are 17 and 15 respectively. Not for Livingston a Cleggian 30-something conquests, then. His traditional, almost old-fashioned values come from his close-knit Jewish clan, who taught him that family was to be cultivated and valued. "It was big Friday night dinners and then synagogue," he once told one newspaper.

Achieving balance isn't always easy and when congratulated for the duration of his marriage, he swiftly defers all credit to his wife. She spends two days a week researching Alzheimer's disease and leads a Brownie troop, in addition to keeping the home fires burning in Elstree, Hertfordshire. And while Livingston's been labelled a gadget freak, only Debbie can be relied upon to read the instruction manuals, so he brings home BT's newest services for her to road-test for user-friendliness.

"I haven't mastered this idea of work-life balance," admits the man who's rumoured to work 80-90 hour weeks. "For what's really important, for a lot of couples, it doesn't matter whether it's the man or the woman, but most times you really need one party being really supportive of the other, and my wife's great, the kids are great and it's nice that they'd still like to see more of me rather than less." Quality, not quantity, is his watchword. One way he keeps the family together is via frequent trips home to see his folks and to attend Celtic's home games, often with his brother and his brother's kids. "You won't find a lot of Celtic supporters in Kelvinside or at Kelvinside Academy," he deadpans, acknowledging the surprise factor of finding a nice Jewish boy so rabid about a Catholic team. "When I was 11, 12, we'd go to synagogue in the morning and football matches in the afternoon," he recalls.

Why Celtic? No idea how it happened, he says. One of his brothers shares his affiliation, the other supports Rangers, which must make for lively family gatherings.

Less surprising, then, that last October he became a non- executive director at Celtic and a member of the company's audit committee – another appointment won by a landslide.

Former Celtic chairman Brian Quinn was immediately impressed by Livingston. "He's sharp and quick, not aggressive or pushy, and he's got modesty with it. I earmarked him as someone who'd go places."

Livingston's retail background at BT, Dixons and as a non-executive director at Ladbrokes obviously appealed to the team. Quinn cultivated him over several lunches, finding him, "an easy person to be with. Get into any kind of discussion and he's right on the ball, never misses a beat.

"He doesn't go out of his way to impress others. His modesty stands out above all."

Those sentiments are echoed by Peter Lawwell, Celtic's chief executive. "He's a very able guy, very well informed about football and an even greater interest in our club and that, combined with his business experience, makes him an effective non-executive director. Personally, he's down to earth and very easy to get along with."

It's easy to stay down to earth if you have kids, jokes Livingston. "A colleague from Dixons saw the Financial Times cover and e-mailed saying I'd gotten younger! My kids don't believe that, they think I'm old. I think it's important not to believe other people's hype about you. I'm the same guy I was at university; you don't change. But kids certainly keep your feet on the ground if there's any danger!"

He credits his current colleagues as inspirations, citing the need for team spirit. He also acknowledges his debt to Dixons mentors Sir Stanley Kalms and John Clare, formidable managers who threw employees in at the deep end and never said: "You're too young for the job."

Livingston's considered a good public speaker who is competent and enthusiastic. As a manager, he's not one to shout. "It's unnecessary," he says. "I am very straightforward. People never have any doubt when I feel deeply concerned about something and one of my team said recently, 'Ian, they didn't want to disappoint you'. That feels good."

Tom Gidley-Kitchen, an analyst at Charles Stanley, said: "It will be interesting to see whether he's as enthusiastic about global services as Ben was – that was his special baby, and it became a continuing fight for him to show that he'd been doing the right thing.

"To some extent that question is still not wholly resolved. In a sense, Livingston doesn't have that kind of emotional history in relation to global services, so it will be interesting seeing whether there's any change of emphasis. I wouldn't expect anything in the short term."

Everybody may love Ian Livingston, but the same cannot be said for the company. BT was named the worst landline provider in a uSwitch.com customer satisfaction poll.

A cursory tour around the internet turns up discussion groups devoted to venting their spleen against the telecoms company. There's even a Facebook group called "I Hate BT" with more than 1,000 members.

Livingston may have what it takes to keep investors happy, but can he win over the punters? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, if he has a motto, it might be his last words to me: "Don't forget where you come from."

CV AT A GLANCE

IAN Paul Livingston has been chief executive of BT Retail at the BT Group since 7 February, 2005, having served as group finance director since April 2002.

He served as group finance director of the Dixons Group from 1997, having joined the company in 1991. He served as unit chief executive of 3i Group, having held senior management positions at 3i Group and Bank of America International.

His experience at Dixons spanned a number of operational and financial roles, both in the UK and overseas.

He serves as executive director of BT Group. He has been an independent, non-executive director of Celtic Football Club since 1 October, 2007. He has served as a non-executive director of Ladbrokes (formerly, Hilton Group ). He has served as a non-executive director of Ladbrokes Employee Share Trust Ltd. He served as director of British Telecommunications. He served as director of Freeserve from its inception.

Livingston holds a BA in economics from Manchester University and he qualified as a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales in 1987. He becomes chief executive of BT in June 2008.