Vodafone 2008 Annual Report Download - page 5

a period of rapid change. He developed a new strategy for the
business and significantly expanded our footprint in emerging
markets. The Board has a great deal to thank him for and I would
like personally to thank him for all he has done for the business
and wish him and his family all the best for the future. In Vittorio
Colao we have a fine successor and I am looking forward to
working with him in his new role.
Non-executive directors Michael Boskin, who joined the Board in
1999 on the Company’s merger with AirTouch Communications
Inc., and Jürgen Schrempp, who became a Director in 2000 when
Vodafone completed its acquisition of Mannesmann, will not be
seeking re-election at the AGM on 29 July 2008. I would like to
thank Michael and Jürgen for their contributions and for the
different and important perspectives each has brought to our
Board. They have served with distinction and I am particularly
grateful to them for their tireless work on our committees.
We conducted our annual Board evaluation internally this year
and this generated good ideas for improving our performance.
Your Company operates in a challenging environment where rapid
change is impacting our customers and therefore our business.
Wherever I go, I am enormously impressed by the talented
Vodafone people I meet and on behalf of the Board, I would like
to thank all of them for what they have achieved during the year.
Your Board is confident that we are well positioned to build on
our success in the coming years.
Sir John Bond
Chairman
Whether it relates to pricing, taxation or spectrum, what we
would like is a public policy framework which provides clarity,
accountability and which facilitates growth, investment and fair
competition. This is important in all areas of policy, including
the allocation of spectrum which today remains in the hands
of governments around the world.
Spectrum is our licence to do business. If we buy too much, we
do not use our shareholders’ capital optimally. If we buy too little,
we drop our customers’ calls – and, of course, we can only buy it
when it is available. The upfront costs of spectrum are ultimately
borne by our customers and shareholders, the effect on the
government finances is to receive cash in advance but to reduce
tax payments later, as the capital cost is amortised against profits
over the life of the spectrum.
This is a period of unprecedented change in our business. The
industry is changing shape as mobile phones, new technology
and the internet converge, enabling us to expand the services
that we can offer. This is also bringing new competitors both
from within the industry and from outside.
We are very proud of the work of our 22 Foundations around
the world, which represents a charitable network investing
£41 million each year in projects and programmes supporting
the communities where we operate.
During the year, we established the Vodafone India Foundation,
which will focus on helping to improve the skills set of young
people in India as they compete for jobs in the global market.
After five years in the role our Chief Executive, Arun Sarin, has
decided to retire and will be stepping down at the conclusion
of our AGM. He has done a tremendous job, having led the
Company with distinction and navigated Vodafone through
Vodafone +26% FTSE 100 +2%
Total shareholder return April 2007 to May 2008
Vodafone share price +25% vs FTSE 100
May 2008April 2007
100
125
150
175
200
5400
5725
6050
6375
6700
― Vodafone Group ― FTSE 100 index
Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2008 3