Arun Sarin resigns as Vodafone CEO

Sarin has been with Vodafone for the last five years. He will be succeeded by deputy chief executive Vittorio Colao

Arun Sarin announced today that after five years in the role, he will be retiring as chief executive officer of the UK telecom giant, Vodafone, on July 29. He will be succeeded by deputy chief executive Vittorio Colao. Sarin was appointed CEO in July 2003. Prior to that, he was a member of the court of directors at the Bank of England.

During his time as CEO, Vodafone has grown its proportionate customer base from 120 million to more than 260 million globally. Returns to shareholders over this period have been very positive with dividends showing an increase of more than 400 per cent. Sarin also led the acquisition of Hutchison Essar, which is by far the company’s largest foreign investment.

In an official communiqué, Sir John Bond, chairman, Vodafone Group, said, “Arun has led the company with distinction and navigated Vodafone through a period of rapid change along with developing a new strategy for the business and significantly expanded our footprint in emerging markets.”

Announcing his resignation, Sarin said, “I feel that I have accomplished what I set out to achieve, particularly in terms of developing and implementing a new strategy. I am very proud of what Vodafone has achieved and the good momentum it has in the marketplace.”

Subsequently, the Vodafone Group also announced that non-executive directors Michael Boskin and Jürgen Schrempp would not be seeking re-election at the annual general meeting.

Recently, Vodafone was in the news when it announced that it would be launching the Apple iPhone in India in the first week of September.