Third chief in two years for BT's Global Services

The telecoms giant said ex-EDS manager Jeff Kelly will run the division in place of Hanif Lalani, who is standing down after 26 years with the group.

Mr Lalani, who was brought brought up in Wetherby and moved from the finance director role to fix Global Services in late 2008, is leaving to pursue personal business interests.

"Hanif took over as chief executive of Global Services at a difficult time for the division. He and his team firstly stabilised and then started to turn around the business," BT's chief executive Ian Livingston said. "We are very grateful to Hanif."

On his appointment, Mr Lalani initiated a root and branch review of the division, which supplies IT services to multinational companies.

The division made 8.8bn in sales in the financial year to end-March 2009, 41 per cent of BT's total revenues, but made an operating loss of 2.1bn.

The division had been successful at winning large contracts but many were barely profitable or even loss-making, a fact that BT blamed on previous management's failure to take sufficient costs out of the business as well as on worsening economic conditions.

After huge writedowns, two group profit warnings sparked by the unit's problems, thousands of job losses and a cut in the dividend, Global Services has begun to make small profits again.

It is believed BT wanted an outside appointment to convince the City that Global Services' troubles are behind it.

Mr Lalani said: "The plans that I have put in place will deliver success for BT Global Services.

"I'm leaving a company that I feel passionate about and love, a company where I have touched so many people's lives and they have touched mine.

"There are other things that the group could have given me to do, but I have done 26 years non-stop in one organisation.

"A break will do me a lot of good. I just see this as a refuelling stop and a rethinking stop."

Mr Kelly, who ran EDS's $10bn Americas business before the computer services firm was bought by Hewlett-Packard in 2008, will start immediately.

Mr Lalani is standing down from the board immediately but will remain until the end of March.

It is understood he will receive a pay-off.