Vodafone Group chief executive Nick Read is being replaced at the end of December by current chief group financial officer Margherita Della Valle . She steps into the £1m job on on an interim basis until a permanent replacement for Read has been found and will also continue as Group Chief Financial Officer.
Read is entitled to 12 months notice and various bonuses will be an advisor to the Vodafone board until March. He also gets £7,000 towards legal costs.
Although shareholders are unhappy with the 20 per cent drop in Vodafone shares this year departure is no massive surprise said analyst Kester Mann of CCS Insight.
“ He had come under growing pressure from disgruntled shareholders amid disappointing stock performance. During the latter part of his tenure increasingly sought mergers and acquisitions. Vodafone recently agreed a co-control deal for its towers business and is in discussions with Three UK. “But deals in targeted markets such as Spain, Italy and Portugal have so far proved elusive. He’ll be remembered for steering Vodafone through the pandemic, narrowing the company’s focus on Europe and Africa, championing the telecoms sector among regulators, seeking a tighter grip on costs, and spinning off its towers business.
“It may have been that a fresh perspective on the embattled company was considered the best way forward. However, the new CEO will face the same tough inbox, with geopolitical uncertainty, rising costs, tough regulation, strong competition and questions over return on investment for the sector high on his or her agenda.”
Vodafone Chairman Jean-François van Boxmeer said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Nick for his commitment and significant contribution to Vodafone as Group Chief Executive and throughout his career spanning more than two decades with the Company. He has been Group CEO for four years.
Said Read: “It has been a privilege to spend over 20 years of my career at Vodafone and I am proud of what we have delivered for customers and society across Europe and Africa. I agreed with the Board that now is the right moment to hand over to a new leader who can build on Vodafone’s strengths and capture the significant opportunities”.
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