Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) shares were one of the top risers on the FTSE 100 as the telecoms group lined up a new chief financial officer to take over this autumn, who had the feel of a potential CEO succession candidate in time.
Pilar López will succeed Luka Mucic, who is stepping down as CFO at the end of November.
She joins after 10 years at Microsoft, where she was chief operating officer for Western Europe and more recently led the partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group.
This followed 16 years with Spanish giant Telefónica, including as CFO of its European arm and of UK mobile network O2, and an early career at JP Morgan.
López, who in a non-exec board member at Spanish giant Inditex and has similar experience on the FTSE 100 with Ferguson in the past, will formally join the board as CFO on 1 December, following a transition period.
Chief executive Margherita Della Valle said: “I am delighted that Pilar will be joining Vodafone in October. She has deep-rooted knowledge of both the telecoms and technology sectors, across a range of international leadership positions.”
López said she was looking forward to contributing to the company’s ongoing transformation, highlighting a focus on operational simplification and cash flow generation.