6th Apr 2006 09:13
Vodafone Group Plc06 April 2006 6 April 2006 NEW ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AT VODAFONE Vodafone Group Plc ("Vodafone") today announces changes to its organisationalstructure including some new appointments which will be effective from 1 May. The overall objective of the new structure is to focus the business according todifferent market and customer requirements. There are three key principles tothe new structure: * To drive operational benefits and cost reduction from local and regional scale in more mature markets * To drive profitable growth from the company's emerging market portfolio * To position the company to capture new revenue streams by extending its reach into converged and IP services As a result, the operations of the Group will be managed through three newbusiness units: Europe The CEO of this unit will be Bill Morrow, currently President of Vodafone'sbusiness in Japan. It will contain all Vodafone's principal European marketsincluding Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Given the high penetration levelsand competitive nature of these markets the unit will focus on leveraging itsunique regional scale and reducing costs. This unit will also include the globaltechnology and marketing functions. With the increased focus on operational efficiency, Tim Miles will move from hisrole as Chief Executive of Vodafone UK to become Chief Technology Officer. Hewill be succeeded by Nick Read, currently Chief Commercial Officer in VodafoneUK. In addition Frank Rovekamp has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer. Central Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Affiliates The CEO of this unit will be Paul Donovan, currently Chief Executive of OVS(Other Vodafone Subsidiaries), and will contain the Group's Emerging Markets andother Vodafone operations. It will have a particular focus on profitable growthin emerging markets. These are grouped into three clusters to maximise thebenefits of regional focus. This unit will also include the Group's joint ventures, affiliates andinvestments. Notably, Verizon Wireless, China Mobile, Vodacom and SFR. The keyfocus will be on maximising performance and increasing, where possible, thebenefits of being part of the Vodafone Group. New Businesses and Innovation This unit will be led by Thomas Geitner as CEO. He is currently the Company'sChief Technology Officer and an Executive Director. This unit will focus onconverged and IP services in order to deliver new revenue streams as Vodafoneseeks to provide innovative services to its customers. Commenting on today's announcement, the Group Chief Executive Arun Sarin said: "This new structure is an important step forward for the Group as it is alignedwith our evolving strategy and addresses the different priorities across theGroup. It will enable us to continue to outperform our competitors as thechanges deliver a streamlined and simple structure with a clear focus. Bycreating three new business units, and with an increased focus on costs, we arereflecting the different approaches that will be required to continue tosucceed, both in terms of our existing operations and in capturing new revenuestreams for the future". Ends For further information: Vodafone Group Investor RelationsTel: +44 (0) 1635 664447 Media RelationsTel: +44 (0) 1635 664444 Note to Editors Biographical details of new appointments Bill Morrow Bill Morrow was appointed President of Vodafone K.K. on 1 April 2005. Prior tothis appointment, Bill was Chief Executive of Vodafone UK Ltd. and before takingthis position in the U.K., he was President of Japan Telecom. With over 25 years in the telecommunications industry, Bill has held a varietyof leadership positions in both new and evolving telecommunication companies. Hehas held senior leadership roles in the USA, Asia, and Europe. For the past 10years he has been affiliated with the Vodafone Group. Prior to joining Vodafone, Bill was located on the outskirts of California'sSilicon Valley and managed a variety of functions within Pacific Bell. Tim Miles In August 2001, Tim Miles joined Vodafone New Zealand as Director of BusinessMarkets and was appointed Managing Director of Vodafone New Zealand in 2002.Over this time period, Vodafone New Zealand significantly increased its marketshare, becoming the number one operator. On 1 April 2005 Tim Miles joined the UKbusiness as Chief Executive Officer and is a member of the Vodafone GroupExecutive Committee. Tim has over twenty years experience in the IT and Telecommunications industryhaving worked in Asia, the United States and New Zealand for IBM, Unisys andData General. He held the position of Managing Director of Unisys New Zealandfrom 1995 - 1999. Tim moved to the United States to lead a Global Task Force reshaping Unisys "Goto Market". He was appointed Vice President Operations, Global Industries in2000 and during that time took responsibility for the Telecommunicationsbusiness. Nick Read In 2002, Nick Read joined Vodafone UK as Finance Director after a year as ChiefFinancial Officer of Vizzavi Europe. In 2003, Nick was appointed ChiefCommercial Officer. As CCO, Nick is responsible for the Consumer and Wholesalebusinesses. Before this Nick held various positions at J Sainsburys, BAA Plc and DixonsStores Group, before he moved onto Federal Express Worldwide. During Nick's ten years at Federal Express, he held a number of senior Financeroles including Chief Financial Officer for the EMEA region based in Belgium andVice President Financial Strategy & Planning Worldwide based in Memphis. He returned to the UK in 1999 as Chief Financial Officer for Miller FreemanWorldwide (the major division of United News & Media plc) playing a key role inshaping the Group's transition from UN&M to United Business Media plc. Frank Rovekamp Frank Rovekamp was appointed Global Director of Consumer Marketing with effectfrom 1 February 2006, and following the announcement on 8 March 2006 of thedeparture of Peter Bamford, Vodafone Group Chief Marketing Officer, Frankassumed Peter's responsibilities on an interim basis. Frank joined Vodafone four years ago as Marketing Director and a Member of theManagement Board of Vodafone Netherlands. He then moved to Vodafone Germanytaking the post of Chief Marketing Officer and member of the Management Board. Before joining Vodafone, Frank was President and CEO of Beyoo, an internet basedtravel agency. Prior to that he was Chief Marketing Officer and held othersenior positions within KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in Amsterdam and New York. Paul Donovan In 2005, Paul Donovan was appointed Chief Executive Officer for Other VodafoneSubsidiaries (OVS), comprising a number of Vodafone's operations including thosein emerging markets. He joined Vodafone UK in 1999 as Managing Director -Commercial, and in 2001 was appointed CEO of Vodafone Ireland. In 2004, heassumed the additional role of Global Director of Business Integration, leadingOne Vodafone, the Group's business transformation programme. Paul has over 15 years experience in the telecommunications and IT industries,gained at Apple Computer as Marketing Director for the UK and Ireland, at BT asHead of Business Marketing and Director of On Line Services, at Cable andWireless subsidiary One2One as Commercial Director, and as Chief CommercialOfficer at Australian telecoms provider Optus Communications. He began his career at the Mars Group, before becoming Marketing Director atCoca-Cola and Schweppes Beverages in 1989. Thomas Geitner Thomas Geitner joined Vodafone in 2000 as an Executive Director, withresponsibility for establishing and managing Global Products and Services. Inthis position Thomas was responsible for establishing Vodafone as a globalbrand, for the creation and successful launch of Vodafone live! in 2002 and theestablishment of a global supply chain organisation. In July 2003, Thomas was appointed Vodafone's Chief Technology Officer. In thiscapacity he initiated and led the One Vodafone programme, established a set ofshared service organizations and created the Group's leadership position on 3Gacross Europe. Prior to Vodafone, Thomas was leading a number of engineering businesses andlater was responsible for telecommunications at RWE Group and was a member ofthe Management Board. He also held the position of CEO of Otelo CommunicationsGmbH and E-Plus, two German telecommunications companies. About Vodafone Vodafone is the world's leading mobile telecommunications group with operationsin 27 countries across 5 continents, as well as 32 partner networks. As at 31December 2005, Vodafone had 179 million proportionate customers worldwide. Forfurther information, please visit www.vodafone.com. (c) Vodafone Group 2006. VODAFONE, the Vodafone logos and Vodafone live! aretrade marks of the Vodafone Group. Other product and company names mentionedherein may be the trade marks of their respective owners. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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