LONDON: Vodafone Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nick Read has decided to step down, the British telecoms group announced on Monday, after four years at helm marked by a huge fall in the company’s share price.
Read will quit his office at the end of December following more than twenty years at the company, a statement said. Vodafone’s chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle will replace him on an interim basis while the company would be seeking a permanent replacement.
His sudden resignation comes after the group recently announced flat earnings in the first half of the year and around 20 percent drop in its share price in 2022.
Read said in a statement that he agreed with the board that the time has come to hand over to a new leader who can build on the group’s strengths and exploit more opportunities ahead.
Vodafone negotiates UK operations merger
He is leaving the company at a time when it is negotiating the merging of its UK operations with the rival Three UK, owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison.
The group believes a merger would quicken the rollout of 5G telecoms technology in the United Kingdom.
After the announcement, Vodafone’s share price was flat at 91 pence. Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell said that it is a disappointment that the CEO Read is going to step down when the company’s shares are at their lowest levels in more than twenty years. –APP/AFP
