LONDON -- BT (NYSE: BTY - News), a leading provider of information communications technology (ICT) solutions, today announced the appointment of Francois Barrault as President, BT International, taking responsibility for BT's operations in Europe, Americas and Asia- Pacific, as well as leading BT's international sales and marketing activities.

Ben Verwaayen CEO, BT Group said, "With the appointment of Francois we bring together all our non-UK operations, and based on his track record, we are adding significant strength to our organization. This is a great appointment for BT that will help us to achieve our ambition to be world-class global leader."

Francois joins BT on 1 May from Lucent Technologies Inc. where he was President of Lucent Mobility International having previously been President and CEO of Lucent Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and, prior to that, senior vice president, international, of their InterNetworking Systems group. Before Lucent, he spent 5 years with Stratus Computer, which was acquired by Ascend Communications which itself was subsequently acquired by Lucent. Francois has also held senior roles at Computervision and IBM and has a background of entrepreneurial experience. He will report to Andy Green, chief executive officer, BT Global Services.

Andy Green, chief executive officer, BT Global Services, said, "Francois Barrault not only brings a blend of industry knowledge, expertise and leading edge sales and marketing skills that will build on the work already underway in BT Global Services, but he will also bring increased momentum to the delivery of our strategy and operational plans. His appointment certainly reflects our long term commitment to deliver ICT services that meet the enterprise wide needs of multi-site organisations across the world. His deep understanding of the market will add significant value in shaping and executing our global strategic agenda."

BT Group plc