Newly appointed BT Wholesale MD Thea Sztejka is on a mission to streamline how the business operates through a ‘relentless focus on automation’ and being easy to work with.
Sztejka joined BT in early 2017 and became BT Wholesale’s Commercial and Propositions Director in 2021, and is now channelling her experience into the BT Wholesale Managing Director role she assumed in October. Her key priorities include simplifying business processes, becoming more partner focused and taking infrastructure and solutions to the next level. “This means building on our propositions and having a relentless focus on automation,” she stated. “From APIs to more face-to-face meetings and quality time with partners at events, we are investing in seamless ways of working and ensuring that we are always results-focused.”
Sztejka believes BT Wholesale has an opportunity to work more closely with partners and she cited this channel collaboration factor as a key reason for taking the role. “I will be stepping out from behind the spreadsheets and seeing much more of our customers,” she added. “I want to create a partner experience with trust, reliability and sustainability being foundational. I am passionate about investing quality time in people, which means listening carefully to our partners to understand their needs.”
Partners need to act now to reap the benefits of being a digital business
The immediate focus of these conversations will be navigating the change from legacy to new digital networks and positioning partners to capitalise on this shift. “We are encouraging the move from copper to fibre, analogue to digital and 3G to 5G,” she added. “Partners need to act now to reap the benefits of being a digital business.”
According to BT Wholesale research less than a third of IT decision makers are prioritising the shift to all-IP. “Our message to the channel is simple – act now to future proof your operations and reap the rewards of being a digital business,” urged Sztejka. “Smart channel players are already investing in both all-IP and 5G to maximise the strength and reliability of their connections. The business case is almost always a good one long-term. That’s why having a trusted partner that delivers is so critical.”
BT Wholesale is also doubling down on its AI play. “Preparing to maximise the benefits of AI is one of the most significant technology trends all businesses and partners are looking at,” added Sztejka. “We want to work with partners to enable this.”
Opportunities
UcaaS is another growth area identified by Sztejka, again referring to research that shows many IT decision makers need fewer applications and simplified ways to collaborate. However, less than half have a UCaaS platform in place. “Again, there’s lots of opportunity for the channel here,” she added. “Modernisation is happening all around us with changes enabled by 5G, All-IP and the advancement of AI providing new ways of working and improvements. We will keep our finger on the pulse and innovating in line with changing trends – technology will always remain core to our strategy.”
Sztejka will continue to elevate BT Wholesale’s diversity agenda and is an active and vocal mentor for the company’s Women in Wholesale programme. “I will continue to champion people from all backgrounds,” she said. “People are at the heart of what we do and I will keep that front and centre in the coming year and beyond. In my career to date, diversity has always led to commercial success.”
Sztejka is also a sustainability champion and aims to encourage partners to become front runners on the green journey. “Ensuring sustainability targets and ambitions can be achieved across the channel is key for us,” she added. “We can support partners to build a greener industry while finding new opportunities for commercial growth.”
This feeds into a larger piece around workforce engagement that Sztejka sees as critical to maintaining strong channel relationships. “I will ensure we have an engaged team that always strives to be better, partner-centric and solutions-focused,” she added. “And by focusing on execution I want to enable our partners to be more successful. Trust and simplicity will remain key to success.”