Mobile telephone big Vodafone’s chief govt Nick Read is stepping down on the finish of the 12 months, after a four-year tenure marked by a steep fall within the firm’s share value and a current plan to slash prices, the British group mentioned Monday.
Read will depart his position on the finish of December following greater than 20 years on the group however will stay an adviser to Vodafone’s board till March 31, a press release mentioned.
The group mentioned chief monetary officer Margherita Della Valle will tackle the position on an interim foundation, alongside her present duties, whereas it hunts for a brand new everlasting boss.
His shock resignation comes after Vodafone lately introduced flat earnings for its first half and follows a close to to twenty% drop in its share value this 12 months.
“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,” Read mentioned within the assertion.
He departs with Vodafone in talks over merging its U.Okay. operations with rival Three U.Okay., owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison.
Vodafone believes a mixture would speed up the rollout of 5G telecoms expertise within the U.Okay., which has been partly hampered by Britain banning Chinese big Huawei from involvement within the expertise providing sooner downloads than 4G.
Shares in Vodafone rose 2% after the announcement, with one analyst saying traders can be hoping {that a} change on the high will reinvigorate its share value.
Vodafone Chairperson Jean-Francois van Boxmeer mentioned: “I would like to thank Nick for his commitment and significant contribution to Vodafone,” adding that, ”during his four years as CEO, he led Vodafone through the pandemic, ensuring that our customers remained connected with their families and businesses.”
The group mentioned Read will obtain wage and advantages till March 31, after which he’ll obtain an quantity as an alternative of his pay for the rest of his 12-month discover interval.
Leading expertise communications firm in Europe and Africa additionally mentioned it’ll pay as much as 7,000 kilos ($8,600) in direction of authorized charges in reference to CEO’s departure and acknowledged he’s entitled to “outplacement support” value as much as 50,000 kilos.
