LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Vodafone Group has appointed U.K. chief Nick Read to run its Asia-Pacific & Middle East region business and Morten Lundal to run Central Europe & Africa.
The appointments seal new chief executive Vittorio Colao's top management structure after a shakeup of roles earlier this month which put control of the group's U.S joint venture Verizon Wireless in the hands of the CEO, CFO and strategy director, and split Vodafone's growing emerging markets assets into two regions.
Lundal is currently chief executive of the Middle East & Africa within Vodafone's Emerging Markets, Asia Pacific and Affiliates (EMAPA) division, and has held the post since earlier this year after joining Vodafone from Norwegian telco Telenor.
Read and Lundal will report to Coloa directly.
Vodafone's EMAPA region generated GBP2.64 billion of revenue in the first quarter to June 30, accounting for over a quarter of group revenues.
The new management structure was put in place to allow the region heads to focus on the group's higher growth emerging markets, which in the first quarter reported 9.2% organic revenue growth, in stark contrast to European organic sales which fell 0.2% in the same period.
European mobile revenue, while still the group's biggest earner, is beginning to stagnate amid saturated markets and increased competition and regulation, and contributed to the warning in July that Vodafone's full year revenue would be at the low-end of forecasts, which sent shares tumbling over 10% on the day.
Vodafone announced earlier this month the appointment of Michel Combes, former chairman and CEO of French radio and TV transmission company TDF Group to head the company's European operations.
Vodafone said Monday that Read will be responsible for Vodafone's assets in Australia, China, Egypt, Fiji, India, New Zealand and Qatar while Lundal will look after Czech Republic, Ghana, Hungary, Kenya, Poland, Romania, Turkey and Vodacom Group, the company's South African joint venture.
Read was appointed U.K. CEO in early 2006 after holding a variety of roles in Vodafone since joining the group in 2001.
The company also said Netherlands CEO Guy Lawrence, who has been with Vodafone since 2000, will become CEO of Vodafone U.K. and will report to Combes.
The company is currently looking for a new Netherlands CEO.
Verizon Wireless is 55% owned by U.S. telecoms giant Verizon Communications (VZ).
At 0815 GMT Vodafone shares were down 1.83% at 124p in a lower overall London market. The shares have shed 29% of their value over the past 12 months.
-By Kathy Sandler, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9293; kathy.sandler@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Posted to the site on 29th September 2008
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/33879.php