21CN boss quits BT

The chief executive behind BT's £10bn national network has resigned.

Dr Paul Reynolds, one of the key business leaders behind the network, 21CN, will leave BT in September.

He is to become the chief executive of Telecom New Zealand.

Reynolds will not be forgotten quickly. At 6ft 6 inches, the amiable Scot boasts a considerable presence in the boardroom and across the industry.

He has worked at BT - his only employer since leaving university - since 1983. He became chief executive of BT Wholesale six years ago.

Aside from helping to create 21CN, Reynolds has overseen the rollout of broadband across the UK and the creation of the much-criticised Openreach, which runs the final mile of BT's telecoms network.

No successor has been announced.

Richard Thurston writes for ZDNet UK