LONDON -- COLT Telecom Group plc (COLT), a leading European provider of business communication services and solutions, signalled today its intention that Jean-Yves Charlier, whose appointment at Fidelity International Limited (FIL) was announced today, should be seconded from FIL to COLT to assume the position of President and Chief Executive of COLT when Steve Akin returns to a new position in the US later this year.

Jean-Yves Charlier joins FIL from BT with significant experience in growing and operating telecommunication groups in Europe and internationally. At BT's Global Services division, he held dual roles as Chief of Operations, responsible for sales and marketing on a global basis, as well as President of Europe, responsible for the company's operations in continental Europe. At BT, Jean-Yves spearheaded successful sales and marketing initiatives to reposition the Global Services division at the forefront of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) growth in the industry whilst returning the European operations to growth and profitability. Prior to his 18 months at BT, the majority of his professional career was spent at Equant and Wang. At Equant, Jean-Yves Charlier was one of the Presidents responsible for growing the company tenfold in seven years to become a leader in global data services in addition to taking the company through successful initial public and secondary offerings at the end of the 1990s.

Jean-Yves received his master of business administration degree from the Wharton School.

"Given that Steve Akin's secondment from Fidelity in the US to COLT was drawing to a close, the Board at COLT felt it important to begin succession planning at an early stage," said Barry Bateman, COLT Chairman. "In Jean-Yves we believe we have found an exceptional and proven executive in the European telecommunications industry who will be a worthy successor to Steve Akin and will be able to take COLT to its next stage of development."

Colt Telecom Group plc