12:30 PM Vodafone's restructuring could leave Verizon Wireless on its own

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

September 10, 2010

1 Min Read
Verizon Wireless Gets a New CFO

12:30 PM -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) weren't the only ones to do some executive shuffling this week. Verizon Wireless also got a new Chief Financial Officer. (See Nokia Dumps CEO, Hires Elop and Weinman Quits AT&T.)

Andrew Davies, current CFO of Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD)'s Indian unit, will take over the helm of Verizon Wireless CFO from John Townsend on November 15.

Davies is coming to the US after having held positions at Vodafone units in India, Turkey, Japan, and the UK. Former US CFO Townsend will take over the role of regional CFO, Europe, for Vodafone Group. He has served as CFO of Verizon Wireless since 2005.

Unlike Nokia, which is in dire need of new direction, Verizon Wireless's C-level shakeup is part of Vodafone's customary changing of the guard and comes as the parent company is restructuring its business. It combined all its minority investments into a single unit, separate from its core business, as well as sold its stake in China Mobile Ltd. (NYSE: CHL) this week. (See Vodafone Reorganizes and Vodafone Sells China Mobile Stake.)

The restructuring, coupled with the new CFO, however, gives new weight to the persistent rumors that Vodafone is looking to dispose entirely of its 45 percent stake in the US's largest wireless operator. (See Euronews: Sept. 10.)

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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