Vodafone gets a new boss. Since group leader Read surprisingly resigns, a woman takes over at least temporarily. Under Read’s leadership, profits fell, also because of the weak German business. Investors therefore welcome the change at the top.
The boss of the British telecommunications group Vodafone, Nick Read, surprisingly resigns from his post after four years. As the company announced, Read will be giving up the chief post at the end of the year. CFO Margherita Della Valle will temporarily manage the competitor of Deutsche Telekom in addition to her duties until the successor is settled.
Read is also stepping down from the company’s board of directors. However, he will remain his advisor until the end of March next year. He agreed with the board that “now is the right moment to hand over to a new leader,” Read said in the company announcement.
Read took over the post in 2018 and has been with Vodafone for over 20 years. Under his leadership, however, the company had not developed satisfactorily, and profits fell significantly. Since the beginning of this year alone, the share has also lost almost 20 percent in value. With the announcement, it increased slightly by two percent.
No reasons were officially given for Read’s replacement, but it is likely to be related to the recent disappointing business figures and the weak business in Germany. Profits had fallen in the first half of the year, also because of “poor business performance in Germany”, its largest market, which in turn is dominated by Telekom, and because of high inflation.
In view of the expected recession in Europe – especially in the home market Great Britain – Vodafone recently lowered the business outlook, which angered investors. The company also had to raise prices for its customers to cushion the economic burden. This in turn caused resentment in everyday life, which was already characterized by high price increases.
