Openreach has confirmed Lauren McGaughey as director for Northern Ireland after a year leading the region on an acting basis, whilst former director Garret Kavanagh moves into a new UK-wide role.
Lauren joined Openreach in 2013 and brings extensive experience across commercial and network operations. Over the past year she has successfully led the Northern Ireland business, overseeing strong progress on broadband upgrades across the region and making full fibre technology available to 92 per cent of Northern Ireland premises.
Lauren McGaughey, newly appointed director of Openreach Northern Ireland, said:
“I’m delighted to be asked to lead the team in Northern Ireland. Openreach’s investment and delivery has already secured Northern Ireland’s place as the most digitally connected region in the UK, and I’m excited to build on that momentum by connecting even more homes and businesses to faster, reliable broadband. We now have a unique competitive advantage – particularly for businesses – with opportunities to scale, attract investment and operate with the confidence of fast, dependable connectivity.”
Garret Kavanagh, outgoing director of Openreach Northern Ireland, added:
“Lauren’s been leading our Northern Ireland team with real distinction over the past year, so this is a natural next step. She combines deep operational experience with a strong commitment to customers and communities, and I’m confident she’ll continue to build on the outstanding progress we’ve made. It’s been a privilege to play my part in delivering one of the most ambitious infrastructure upgrade programmes anywhere in the UK. As I move into my new role I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together – building the highest level of full fibre coverage in the UK and creating a strong leadership team that will continue to drive better outcomes for Northern Ireland.”
Kavanagh, who has led Openreach Northern Ireland for the past four years, has been appointed managing director for complex engineering at Openreach and will take up the UK role in April following a period of family leave.
Openreach is investing £15 billion to build fibre-to-the-premises broadband across 25 million UK premises by December 2026, with potential to reach up to 30 million premises by 2030.
