Vodafone CEO Nick Read To Step Down; CFO Margherita Della Valle To Be Interim Chief Executive

The UK-based Vodafone Group on Monday said its CEO Nick Read would step down at the end of this year. He will be replaced by the company’s Chief Financial Officer Margherita Della Valle on an interim basis.

“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,” CEO Read, who has been in charge for the past four years, said in a statement.

Read, who joined Vodafone 21 years ago in 2001, will continue as an advisor until the end of March 2023.

Read led the mobile group through the pandemic, sold assets to increase its focus on Europe and Africa, and spun out its towers infrastructure into a separate unit.

“In addition to being appointed interim Group Chief Executive, Margherita Della Valle will also continue as Group Chief Financial Officer. The Board has initiated a process to find a new Group Chief Executive,” the company said in the statement.

Nick Read has held various local, regional and global senior executive roles until his appointment as CEO in 2018. Before joining Vodafone, he held senior global finance positions with United Business Media Plc and Federal Express Worldwide.

(With Inputs From Agencies)

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