CFO Margherita Della Valle to multitask as CEO
Nick Read is to step down as CEO of UK Mobile operator Vodafone Group on December 31 after four years in the top job. Chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle will take over the helm on interim basis as the company seeks a new supremo.
For four years Read led Vodafone through the pandemic, ensuring that customers remained connected with their families, business and with Vodafone, acknowledged Vodafone chairman Jean-François van Boxmeer in a company statement.
“[Read] has focused Vodafone in Europe and Africa as a converged connectivity provider and led the industry in Europe in unlocking value from tower infrastructure,” said van Boxmeer.
Read was constantly under pressure to strike collaboration deals across many Vodafone’s markets. In the UK, it achieved some deals Vodafone extended its deal with alternative fibre network provider, CityFibre and struck wholesale deals with the like of BT’s access arm Openreach.
Consolidation proved trickier. Read had suggested Vodafone could co-invest in rival Virgin Media’s roll out of fibre and even merge with its smallest UK competitor, Three, although a merger between Three UK and O2 UK (which is owned by Telefonica and merged with Virgin Media earlier this year) was blocked by the EU Competition Commission in 2016.
Acting CEO
Now the moment Della Valle must steady the ship. “Margherita has recently been taking a broader operational role within the company and the board fully supports her as interim group chief executive,” said van Boxmeer
“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,” said van Boxmeer
Outgoing chief executive Nick Read gave this statement: “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 ahead.”
Tough gig
Kester Mann, Director, Consumer and Connectivity at CCS Insight, noted that Readhad come under growing pressure from disgruntled shareholders amid disappointing stock performance. Also, that while Read has been CEO for four years, he has been at Vodafone for over 20.
“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,” Mann says.