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April 27 (Reuters) – Vodafone (VOD.L) is said to be leaning towards appointing its interim chief executive officer, Margherita Della Valle, on a permanent basis, Sky News said on Thursday.
A source told Reuters that Della Valle’s strongest backers were Vodafone’s institutional investors, such as the company’s biggest shareholder, Emirates Investment Authority, which has built up a 14.6% stake.
Della Valle, who has been the company’s chief financial officer since 2018, stepped into the top role after Nick Read suddenly left in December, when he said it was the right moment for a new leader.
Vodafone’s board was unhappy with Read’s lack of progress in delivering growth and it tasked Della Valle with accelerating “the execution of the company’s strategy to improve operational performance and deliver shareholder value”.
At the same time, it started a wide-ranging search for a permanent replacement.
Read was also previously chief financial officer before taking the top job, and he was criticised by some investors for making little progress in striking deals to improve Vodafone’s performance in markets like Spain and Italy.
Sky News said Vodafone’s board, chaired by the former Heineken chief Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, had yet to take a formal decision about the appointment of its next chief executive.
A Vodafone spokesman declined to comment.
Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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