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