Richard Tang to return to CEO role at Zen Internet as Paul Stobart retires

Paul Stobart, CEO of Zen Internet, is to retire at the end of March, after five years in the role. 

Richard Tang, founder and chairman, will return to the CEO position, which he previously held for 23 years before appointing Mr Stobart.

 

Read more: Zen Internet appoints new CEO as founder becomes chairmanPublished: 22 August 2018

 

Paul Stobart said: “It has been an incredible privilege leading this business for the last five years; we are all very proud of our achievements over this period. 

“Zen has become a B Corp and cemented its credentials as an eco-friendly business; we have deployed solar, agreed our Net Zero plan with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and are becoming an acknowledged voice in our industry in the environmental space. 

“We have topped the annual Which? table of broadband providers for each of the five years and been their only recommended broadband provider for three consecutive years; we enjoy a 4.3 star “excellent” Trustpilot rating. 

“We have grown revenues by 70% to annualised revenues of £110m and increased the size of our broadband base from 128,000 to 190,000 circuits. 

“We have won countless awards for service and support, as well as multiple accreditations from partners and suppliers. We were one of the first providers to sign up to Ofcom’s voluntary auto compensation scheme and are also compliant with the regulator’s updated voluntary code of practice on better broadband speeds.

“ We have unbundled a further 300 exchanges to reach our current footprint of 700, and have invested substantively in our core network, and in our data centres. 

“I am particularly proud of the investments we have made in our people – Learning and Development programmes, Diversity and Inclusion, higher quality communications, enhanced benefits, hybrid working, and much more besides. 

“None of this would have been possible without the amazing people at Zen to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude.”

 

 

Richard Tang said: “Five years ago, I offered Paul my job as CEO. I have said many times that it was one of my best decisions, and it really was.

“I have enjoyed enormously being Zen’s chairman and brand ambassador, and supporting Paul in driving the business forward. We’ve had a great collaborative working relationship based on shared values, and it has been my pleasure and honour to work with him.

“Now it’s time for me to get back in the driving seat, and I can’t wait. Although I was CEO for 23 years before Paul took over, it still holds all the excitement for me of starting a new job. 

“[I'm] Really looking forward to working as CEO, and taking us forward to the next chapter of the Zen success story.”