Guillaume Boutin will take up the post in mid-May having spent seven years at the Belgian operator group
Guillaume Boutin, CEO of Belgium’s Proximus Group, will join Vodafone Group in mid-May as its CEO Vodafone Investments & Strategy. He will also become member of Vodafone Group’s executive committee. Proximus said its board is starting a search for his successor.
Boutin joined Proximus as Chief Marketing Officer, Consumer in August 2017, before becoming CEO in December 2019. His tenure as CEO saw accelerated fibre and 5G roll-out in Belgium. His leadership also paved the way to collaborative agreements with peers to limit duplication of fibre networks and devised and executed the the bold2025 strategy to drive domestic growth and international expansion.
According to Proximus’ press release, Boutin and his “leadership squad he transformed Proximus into the leading Belgian operator in terms of growth and commercial results and achieved significant milestones, such as the creation of Proximus NXT and the launch of Proximus Global, one of the worldwide leaders in Digital Communications”.
Vodafone Investments
Boutin will succeed Serpil Timuray who joined Vodafone Group was as CEO of Turkey in January 2009. Since then she has held a variety of senior roles, and been a member of the group executive since committee since 2013. She has decided to leave Vodafone at the end of June after more than 16 years “to pursue external opportunities”.
Vodafone Investments was established in 2024 to combine Vodafone’s “non-controlled investments” in telecoms operators, infrastructure assets, sector innovators and the Partner Markets division. The latter provides services to other telecoms operators in 45 countries and Proximus Group has participated in the Partner Market since 2003.
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group CEO, said, “I am delighted that Guillaume is joining us to lead Vodafone Investments & Strategy for the Group. He has a strong mix of strategic, operational and leadership experience, combined with deep-rooted sector knowledge. His appointment is a great addition to our executive team and will also benefit our telecoms partners around the world. I also want to thank Serpil for her tireless commitment and significant contribution to Vodafone over the last 15 years.”
Boutin said of joining Vodafone, “I’m excited to be joining Vodafone at such an important time in the Group’s transformation. I see significant opportunities to create value through its investments in operators, infrastructure and innovation.”
Leaving Proximus
About leaving Proximus he commented, “”Proximus is well-prepared for the future and can count on strong foundations and incredible talents. Major transformations have been initiated in the last years and the management, together with their teams, will further execute them with the same drive. I am convinced that the current management team will deliver on all our ambitions and make the right decisions moving forward. I’m dedicated to contributing to Proximus’ successes until my last day in the company and wish all teams a great future within this wonderful company.”
Stefaan De Clerck Chairman of the Proximus Board, appointed by the Belgian State said, “I’m proud of the way he led the organization and of his strategic contributions that will shape the future of the company…In his role of CEO, his leadership and strong execution of the strategic transformation program repositioned Proximus successfully for long-term profitable growth on the domestic as well as international markets and ensured the roll-out of both mobile and fixed networks of the future…The Board wishes Guillaume all the best in his new role and explicitly wants to thank him for everything he brought to the Proximus Group.”
Boutin began his career in a web start-up, then joined France’s SFR in 2003 where he held various positions in strategy, finance and marketing, until he Joined Canal+ Group in 2015 as Chief Marketing Officer.