BT chief Jansen approached about WPP chairmanship - Sky News

BT had previously said Jansen would remain chief executive until Kirkby took over, and he would will be available to support the handover until the end of March, at which point he intended to retire from executive life. WPP's search was not yet at an advanced stage and there was no certainty that Jansen or WPP would decide to push his candidacy further, the Sky News report added.

(Adds background in paragraph 2 to 4, details from report in paragraph 5 and 7) Jan 1 (Reuters) -

BT Group's outgoing boss Philip Jansen has been approached about becoming the next chairman of advertising group WPP, replacing Roberto Quarta, Sky News reported on Monday. Quarta has been WPP's chairman since 2015.

Last year, BT, Britain's biggest broadband and mobile provider, appointed Allison Kirkby as CEO to replace Jansen, effective from around the end of this month. BT had previously

said Jansen would remain chief executive until Kirkby took over, and he would will be available to support the handover until the end of March, at which point he intended to retire from executive life.

WPP's search was not yet at an advanced stage and there was no certainty that Jansen or WPP would decide to push his candidacy further, the Sky News report added. BT and WPP did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

WPP was expected to pick a chairperson from outside the ranks of its existing board members, who include the former Burberry chief Angela Ahrendts and Tom Ilube, the chair of the Rugby Football Union, Sky News said, citing people familiar with the matter.