VODAFONE ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHANGES

RNS Number : 1188S

Vodafone Group Plc

04 November 2019

 

4 November 2019

VODAFONE ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHANGES

•      Vodafone appoints Vivek Badrinath as CEO of its new European tower business

•      Group management structure to be simplified with the removal of Vodafone's Rest of World regional organisation

•      Shameel Joosub, CEO of Vodacom Group, to join Vodafone's Executive Committee

Vodafone Group Plc ("Vodafone") today announced that Vivek Badrinath will be appointed Chief Executive of its new European tower company, referred to as 'TowerCo', effective 1 April 2020. In line with our previous announcement in July, TowerCo^[1] will be legally separated into a new organisation and will become operational by May 2020, with a senior team in place by that time. Capturing the industrial benefits from network sharing, achieving operational efficiencies and pursuing monetisation opportunities for passive tower infrastructure are key elements of Vodafone's strategy to improve asset utilisation.

Vivek Badrinath is currently the Chief Executive of Vodafone's Rest of World operations. He has extensive telecoms and technology leadership experience from his role at Vodafone and his previous roles at Orange, where he was Deputy Chief Executive and prior to that led its global networks and operations division. Before joining Vodafone, Vivek was Deputy Chief Executive of international hospitality group AccorHotels.

Nick Read, Chief Executive of Vodafone, said: "I'm pleased that Vivek, one of our most experienced senior executives, will be leading our new tower business. We believe that there is significant scope to generate operational efficiencies and increase tenancy ratios across our tower portfolio, and that we will be able to unlock value for shareholders."

Vodafone also announces today that it will simplify its management structure with the removal of the Rest of World regional organisation, from the beginning of FY20/21. Following this reorganisation, Shameel Joosub, the Chief Executive of Vodacom Group, will be joining Vodafone's Executive Committee, effective 1 April 2020.  

Nick Read said: "I look forward to welcoming Shameel to Vodafone's Executive Committee. This appointment will streamline the management of our businesses and reflects the significance of Vodacom within the Group. Shameel has led our African operations through a period of sustained growth and he will be an excellent addition to our senior team." 

Shameel Joosub became Chief Executive of Vodacom Group in September 2012. Prior to that, Shameel was Chief Executive of Vodafone Spain, and before that, he was the Managing Director of Vodacom South Africa. Shameel is a member of Vodacom Group's Board and in August 2017, he was appointed a Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit committee of Safaricom, the leading Kenyan communications company.

[1] Vodafone has one of Europe's largest tower portfolios, comprising approximately 61,700 towers across 10 countries, with 75% of these sites in the major markets of Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. When Vodafone announced the creation of its TowerCo in July 2019, it estimated its towers business could generate proportionate annual revenue and EBITDA of around €1,700 million and €900 million respectively.

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Notes to Editors

About Vodafone Group

Vodafone Group is one of the world's leading telecoms and technology service providers. We have extensive experience in connectivity, convergence and the Internet of Things, as well as championing mobile financial services and digital transformation in emerging markets.

Vodafone Group has mobile operations in 24 countries, partners with mobile networks in 41 more, and fixed broadband operations in 19 markets. As of 30 June 2019, Vodafone Group had approximately 640 million mobile customers, 21 million fixed broadband customers and 14 million TV customers, including all of the customers in Vodafone's joint ventures and associates. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com.

 

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