Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read has resign from his position at the company, the company announced today. Read’s resignation comes after he was arrested and charged with fraud. The CEO will remain on trial but is expected to be released on a bail pending trial.
In a statement, Vodafone said that the board will appoint a temporary CFO to replace Read while it conducts an internal review of its financial practices. The CFO will report directly to the board.
Read has been with Vodafone since 1995 and was appointed CEO in 2019. Read’s replacement, who will work alongside outgoing CFO Paul Blakemore, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read resign on Thursday, and his deputy CEO, Vittorio Colao, will take over as interim CEO. The company said in a statement that the board had accepted Read’s resignation and accepted the board’s recommendation of Colao as interim CEO. The company said the board had chosen Colao because he has been with Vodafone for more than 20 years and “has strong experience in strategy execution.”
Vodafone Group, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, has announced that its CEO Nick Read is stepping down. He will be replaced by Vodafone Group’s CFO Russell Stokes until a permanent replacement can be found. The company cited “personal reasons” for the move, but it’s unclear whether there are any legal issues or financial trouble at Vodafone.
Stokes is currently Vodafone’s head of operations and technology and has been with the company since 2011. He previously spent time at AT&T and Verizon before joining Vodafone’s board in 2014.
Vodafone Group is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. It employs over 100,000 people in more than 170 countries and territories across the globe.
According to Vodafone Group’s press release, the board of directors decided that it is “in the best interests” of the company to name CFO Christopher Mannion as interim CEO. Mannion will lead a new management team responsible for operating Vodafone’s global operations and managing its investments. Vodafone Group chief executive officer Nick Read resigned on Friday, effective immediately. The company’s finance chief will serve as interim CEO until a successor is named.
Read’s departure comes as the company faces a tough year in which it has lost market share to rivals and seen several customers defect to rival carriers. “Departing from Vodafone is the most difficult decision of my career,” he added. “The company is in great shape and has a bright future ahead.”
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