Vodafone has restructured its European management in a move that abolishes the post of CEO for the region and will enable the heads of its four largest markets to report directly to group CEO, Vittorio Cola.
The restructuring means that the current European head, Philipp Humm, will leave the group later in the year.
A spokesperson from Vodafone Group told FierceWireless:Europe that Humm "has chosen to pursue his career ambitions outside Vodafone in light of the new organisation." Given the removal of his role, it would appear he has little choice in the matter.
The spokesperson added: "The changes have been made to simplify organisational processes, enhance management efficiency and accelerate decision-making."
With effect from Oct.1, 2015, the CEOs of Vodafone's four largest European markets--Hannes Ametsreiter in Germany, Aldo Bisio in Italy, Jeroen Hoencamp in the UK and Antonio Coimbra in Spain--will become members of the group executive committee and will report directly to Colao.
The CEO of Vodafone Netherlands, Rob Shuter, will also join the group executive committee and will assume additional leadership responsibilities for Vodafone's smaller European markets, reporting directly to Colao.
Colao said: "These changes will simplify and streamline the management of our largest European markets and accelerate our strategic plans in those countries as convergence gathers pace and our Project Spring organic investment programme and focus on efficiency deliver visible results."
Corporate functions operating at regional level in Europe will be integrated within the respective group functions. There are no changes to the leadership structure for the group's Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific region.
Vodafone also recently announced changes to the way it reports revenue. The operator had advised financial analysts that it is no longer including revenue from the sale of cable access to operators offering international voice calls in its results, and restated its earnings for the past eight quarters to account for the change. The announcement caused the company's share price to fall by 2 per cent, although it quickly revovered.
Meanwhile Liberty Global is reportedly still pursuing a full merger with Vodafone, with discussions running in parallel to talks regarding an asset swap. A merger would seek to create a new European multi-service giant, combining Vodafone's extensive wireless network with Liberty Global's cable infrastructure.
For more:
- see this release from Vodafone
- see this Reuters article
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