News
Former BP head Lord Browne has accelerated his exit from Huawei, now stepping down in September rather than at the end of his term next March
Just hours before the UK government is set to announce a major policy decision with regards to the Chinese vendor Huawei, Sky News is reporting that the company’s UK chairman, Lord Browne of Madingley, is resigning from his position.
Lord Browne’s term as chairman was due to end next March, but reports suggest that he has given notice of his resignation in the last few days, bringing his exit date forward to September.
Just last week Lord Browne spoke out in an interview in support of Huawei, suggesting that the core of the issue lay between the ongoing tech race between the US and China, rather than with security concerns and the conduct of Huawei itself.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life, where a company is a football between two great powers,” he said.
Lorde Browne’s departure still leaves some venerable firepower on Huawei’s UK board, with non-executives including Sir Andrew Cahn, the former head of UK Trade & Investment, and Sir Ken Olisa, the lord lieutenant of London and former deputy chairman of the Institute of Directors. The latest addition, joining earlier this year, was Sir Mike Rake, the former chairman of BT Group.
To what extent Lorde Browne’s resignation comes as a result of the gloomy outlook for Huawei regarding the government’s pending decision is unclear. However, at least for today, his untimely departure will be the least of Huawei’s worries.
Also in the news:
Telefonica’s Spanish IoT market grows, invests in Nozomi for security
Deutsche Telekom exploring quantum tech with OPENQKD
“New generation of engineering talent” needed to hit UK’s 2025 broadband target
