Vodafone Hutchison Australia said on Friday it has appointed Inaki Berroeta as its new CEO to replace Bill Morrow, who is leaving to become CEO of government-owned NBN Co, which is in charge of building Australia's national broadband network.
In a statement, Vodafone Australia said Berroeta will take up his new post on Mar. 1 2014, although Morrow will remain with the company until the end of March. Morrow has been with Vodafone Australia since March 2012, and charged with the task of turning the business round.
Berroeta is currently CEO of Vodafone Romania, and has held this position since 2010.
"Inaki is a great fit for the local team and his diverse background places him well to take Vodafone through to the next phase of its three-year turnaround," said Morrow.
Berroeta has considerable international experience: he was appointed president and CEO of Vodafone Malta in 2007 and prior to this held various operational roles at Vodafone Spain, Global Star USA, AirTouch International, Airtel Moviles (Spain) and Keon (Spain and US).
At Vodafone Romania, Berroeta oversaw a business that employed 3,500 staff and generated revenue of €769 million ($1 billion) in 2012, with EBITDA of €276 million. He recently secured a new 15-year spectrum licence for the company and has also forced the pace of LTE rollouts in the country.
Vodafone Romania's main rivals are Cosmote Romania and Orange Romania. Orange Romania and Vodafone Romania last year signed a network-sharing deal that will allow them to deploy LTE more quickly as well as expand wireless coverage into rural areas.
For more:
- see this Vodafone release
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