BT Appoints Virgin Media O2 CFO Patricia Cobian Amid Revenue Drop

BT Group has appointed Patricia Cobian, the current CFO of Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), as its next chief financial officer, succeeding Simon Lowth who will retire next year. Cobian, who has held senior finance roles at O2 UK and VMO2 since the 2016 merger, will join BT's board in mid-2026 and become its first female CFO. CEO Allison Kirkby highlighted Cobian's leadership and industry experience as critical to BT's ongoing digital infrastructure upgrades and modernization efforts. The announcement came alongside BT's fiscal Q1 2026 results, which showed a 3% revenue decline to £4.9 billion, impacted by weaker handset sales and challenging international markets, as well as a 10% drop in pre-tax profit. Despite these challenges, BT reported expanding full fiber broadband coverage to over 19 million homes and 5G availability to 87% of the UK population, with Kirkby noting strong customer demand and progress in simplifying the business and improving customer experience. The market responded positively to Cobian's appointment, with BT shares rising nearly 10%, reflecting investor confidence in her sector expertise amid BT's strategic transformation and cost-cutting initiatives.