Nick Read to step down as Voda CEO by end of this year

Nick Read will step down as Vodafone chief executive by the end of the year, ending a four-year tenure during which the British telecom group’s share price has nearly halved.

Once one of the biggest mobile operators in the world, Vodafone has been selling assets to focus on Europe and Africa, but the deals have not arrested its stock’s decline.

Vodafone’s board was unhappy with Read’s lack of progress in delivering growth and has tasked his interim replacement, finance director Margherita Della Valle, with accelerating “the execution of the company’s strategy to improve operational performance and deliver shareholder value”.