Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 11:21 AM 2 min read
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BT has poached from its biggest broadband rival Virgin Media O2 to appoint its first female finance chief, The Telegraph can reveal.
Patricia Cobian, 50, is expected to be announced as chief financial officer imminently, according to City sources.
After a lengthy period of gardening leave, she will take over from Simon Lowth, 64, who is retiring and has run BT’s complex finances for nearly a decade.
Ms Cobian will work alongside Allison Kirkby, the first female chief executive of the former state monopoly.
The Spaniard became Virgin Media O2’s chief financial officer in 2021 when Virgin Media, Britain’s second-biggest broadband network, merged with the mobile operator, O2.
She had previously spent her career in various roles at Telefonica, Spain’s former state telecoms monopoly, which owned O2. It became a joint venture partner in Virgin Media O2 with the US-listed cable specialist Liberty Global.
At BT, Ms Cobian is set to play a crucial role in managing the company’s relationship with its massive pension scheme, which at the last triennial valuation had Liabilities of £41bn and a funding deficit of £3.7bn. BT has agreed to pay £600m a year until the end of the decade to help close the shortfall.
The company’s other big bill is its multibillion-pound annual investment in replacing its ageing copper telephone network with faster and more reliable fibre-optic broadband lines.
The £15bn programme is scheduled to cover 25 million premises by the end of next year and its massive cost has contributed to a long slump in BT’s share price.
With the end of the heaviest expenditure on the horizon and deep cost-cuts pledged, Ms Kirkby has overseen an increase in the company’s stock of more than a third so far this year.
Investors led by the Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, a 24.5pc shareholder, are betting on strong returns as households switch to the new fibre-optic network and regulators allow BT to price broadband higher.
Ms Cobian’s defection leaves Virgin Media O2 seeking new financial leadership at a tricky time.
The socialist Spanish government last year became the biggest shareholder in Telefonica and effectively ousted its leadership, installing new executives who have ordered a strategic review at Virgin Media O2.
It has been reported that the move could lead to a deal to buy out Liberty Global. In the meantime it has delayed moves to tackle Virgin Media O2’s heavy debts.
BT and Virgin Media O2 were contacted for comment.
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