Vodafone 2010 Annual Report Download - page 50

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48 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2010
Directors and senior management
Our business is managed by our Board of directors (‘the Board’). Biographical details
of the directors and senior management at 18 May 2010 are as follows:
Board of directors
Chairman
1. Sir John Bond†, aged 68, became Chairman of Vodafone Group Plc in July 2006,
having previously served as a non-executive director of the Board, and is Chairman
of the Nominations and Governance Committee. He is a non-executive director of
A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S and Shui On Land Limited (Hong Kong SAR). He retired from
the position of Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings plc in May 2006. Previous non-
executive directorships include the London Stock Exchange plc, Orange plc, British
Steel plc, the Court of the Bank of England and Ford Motor Company, USA. He is also
an advisor to Northern Trust in Chicago.
Executive directors
2. Vittorio Colao, Chief Executive, aged 48, was appointed Chief Executive of
Vodafone Group Plc after the AGM on 29 July 2008. He joined the Board in October
2006 as Chief E xecutive, Europe and Deputy Chief Executive. He spent the early part
of his career as a partner in the Milan office of McKinsey & Co working on media,
telecommunications and industrial goods and was responsible for recruitment. In
1996 he joined Omnitel Pronto Italia, which subsequently became Vodafone Italy,
and he was appointed Chief Executive in 1999. He was then appointed Regional
Chief Executive Officer, Southern Europe for Vodafone Group Plc in 2001, became a
member of the Board in 2002 and was appointed to the role of Regional Chief
Executive Officer for Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa for Vodafone in 2003.
In 2004 he left Vodafone to join RCS MediaGroup, the leading Italian publishing
company, where he was Chief Executive until he rejoined Vodafone. He sits on the
International Advisory Board of Bocconi University, Italy.
3. Andy Halford, Chief Financial Officer, aged 51, joined the Board in July 2005. He
joined Vodafone in 1999 as Financial Director for Vodafone Limited, the UK operating
company, and in 2001 he became Financial Director for Vodafone’s Northern Europe,
Middle East and Africa region. In 2002 he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of
Verizon Wireless in the US and is currently a member of the Board of Representatives
of the Verizon Wireless partnership. Prior to joining Vodafone he was Group Finance
Director at East Midlands Electricity Plc. He holds a bachelors degree in Industrial
Economics from Nottingham University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in England and Wales.
4. Michel Combes, aged 48, Chief Executive Officer, Europe Region, was appointed
to the Board with effect from 1 June 2009. He joined the Company in October 2008.
He began his career at France Telecom in 1986 in the External Networks Division and
then moved to the Industrial and International Affairs Division. After being technical
advisor to the Minister of Transportation from 1991 to 1995, he served as Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of GlobeCast from 1995 to 1999. He was Executive Vice
President of Nouvelles Frontieres Group from December 1999 until the end of 2001
when he moved to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Assystem-Brime, a
company specialising in industrial engineering. He returned to France Telecom Group
in 2003 as Senior Vice President of Group Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Until
January 2006 he was Senior Executive Vice President, in charge of NExT Financial
Balance & Value Creation and a member of the France Telecom Group Strategic
Committee. From 2006 to 2008 he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TDF
Group. He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Assystem SA in France.
5. Stephen Pusey, aged 48, Group Chief Technology Officer, joined Vodafone in
September 2006 and was appointed to the Board with effect from 1 June 2009. He
is responsible for all aspects of Vodafone’s networks, IT capability, research and
development and supply chain management. Prior to joining Vodafone he held the
positions of Executive Vice President and President, Nortel EMEA, having joined
Nortel in 1982 gaining a wealth of international experience across both the wireline
and wireless industries and in business applications and solutions. Prior to Nortel, he
spent several years with British Telecom.
Deputy Chairman and senior independent director
6. John Buchanan§†, aged 66, became Deputy Chairman and senior independent
director in July 2006 and has been a member of the Board since April 2003. He retired
from the board of directors of BP p.l.c. in 2002 after six years as Group Chief Financial
Officer and executive director following a wide-ranging career with the company. He
was a member of the United Kingdom Accounting Standards Board from 1997 to
2001. He is Chairman of Smith & Nephew plc and senior independent director of BHP
Billiton Plc. He is Chairman of The International Chamber of Commerce (UK) and
previous non-executive directorships include AstraZeneca plc and Boots plc.
Non-executive directors
7. Alan Jebson§, aged 60, joined the Board in December 2006. He retired in May
2006 from his role as Group Chief Operating Officer of HSBC Holdings plc, a position
which included responsibility for IT and Global Resourcing. During a long career with
HSBC he held various positions in IT including the position of Group Chief Information
Officer. His roles included responsibility for the Group’s international systems
including the consolidation of HSBC and Midland systems following the acquisition
of Midland Bank in 1993. He originally joined HSBC as Head of IT Audit in 1978 where,
building upon his qualification as a chartered accountant, he built an international
Board of directors and Group management