Kate Ferry, Chief Financial Officer, has decided to step down from the Board of TalkTalk after three and a half years having lead TalkTalk through many pivotal moments in its history including the proposed takeover of the Company by Tosca IOM Limited as announced separately today (“Acquisition”).
Phil Eayres will become Chief Financial Officer of TalkTalk when Kate steps down. Phil has worked with the business for over six years, initially as Operations Director in Consumer and more recently as an independent strategic advisor leading the development and disposal of FibreNation, as well as the strategic planning for the group, whilst also playing a key role in working on the proposed Acquisition. Prior to this he spent eight years in various roles for supermarket group Pick n Pay in South Africa, having begun his career in finance at Shell, Pepsico and Diageo before joining Bain & Company in 1999. As part of his new role, Phil will continue to lead strategy and transformation across the Group.
Both these Board changes will be effective on the earlier of the day on which the Scheme of Arrangement in respect of Acquisition becomes effective or 31 March 2021. There is no other information to disclose pursuant LR 9.6.13 in respect of the appointment of Phil Eayres.
Tristia Harrison, Chief Executive of TalkTalk, commented:
“As the business potentially goes private and now that we are primarily North-West based, Kate has decided that it is the right time for her to leave TalkTalk and live and work in London. I want to personally thank Kate for being by my side throughout the last few years; her tenacity and focus has been central to the transformation and simplification of the business; the Board and I wish her every success in the future.
“I am also delighted that Phil has accepted the role of CFO to replace Kate. Phil has worked alongside me and the Board for over six years; and has been a driving force behind leading the group’s work on Full Fibre including the successful sale of FibreNation to CityFibre. He also has a long career in finance; and it is this mixture of financial, commercial, and strategic expertise that makes him the ideal candidate to help lead us going forward.”
The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Tim Morris, General Counsel and Company Secretary.
Contacts:
Investor Relations: Tim Warrington +44 (0) 7775 414 240
Media: Dominic Laurie +44 (0) 7814 810 626