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Vodafone looks at reorganisation in Europe
17 May 2012
Vodafone restructuring likely to begin with search for successor to departing CEO Michel Combes
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Vodafone
SFR
Vivendi
Turkey
restructure
Safaricom
Vodacom
Vodafone is considering a restructure, after the exit of its European chief executive officer Michel Combes, reported Bloomberg citing two unnamed people familiar with the development. The restructuring is likely to start with a search for a successor to Combes, added the sources.
Combes will leave at the end of July to become chairman and CEO of Vivendi’s French mobile operator SFR.
The Bloomberg sources said that the company may divide its operations into a unit comprising western Europe, a second group made up of Turkey, central and eastern Europe and a third unit including Vodafone’s assets in southern Africa, under the Vodacom brand, and India.
As part of the restructure Vodafone is believed to be considering promotions for executives including Paolo Bertoluzzo, CEO of Vodafone Italy, Serpil Timuray, CEO of Vodafone Turkey, and Michael Joseph, former CEO of Safaricom, Vodafone’s Kenyan subsidiary and now director of global payments.
Vodafone group CEO Vittorio Colao said the Turkish unit, with fastest growth in service revenue in the previous quarter, does not fit within the current structure. He told Bloomberg: “I cannot put it either in mature and sophisticated Europe or in emerging markets because it is at the same time sophisticated and emerging. I have to say in this sense it’s clearly an engine for growth, it’s also a sophisticated market and so in that sense it’s also a European market.” GTB
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