Vodafone has announced its full leadership team ahead of its imminent merger with Three in the UK.
The carrier has unveiled its new management after the merger was cleared by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in December.
The appointments have been made by Max Taylor, who has been appointed as CEO of the merged company.
Taylor, appointed CEO of Vodafone's UK unit in April 2024, confirmed that Three CFO Darren Purkis will continue in that role for the merged entity.
Eight of the eleven roles announced, not including the CEO position, have been filled by Vodafone personnel.
The network's business will be headed by Andrea Dona, who has been doing the same role for Vodafone UK. Dona has been Vodafone's chief network officer since 2021.
Other appointments will see Kelly Barlow oversee the business strategy and portfolio, while Clare Corkish will run HR.
Nick Gliddon will lead the business unit of the merged company, while Jon Shaw will oversee consumer operations, and Rob Winterschladen will lead the consumer unit.
Regulatory, government affairs & company secretary will be Stephen Lerner. Nicki Lyons will oversee corporate affairs & sustainability, and Stephen Reidy will run the IT division. Andy Yorston has been named as the lead for legal, security, compliance, and risk.
According to Vodafone's announcement, the appointments "followed a robust selection process and were approved by the MergeCo Governance Board, with representatives of both Vodafone Group and CK Hutchison as shareholders of the future merged company."
"The General Management Team appointees will transition into their new roles once the CMA process is fully complete and the new company, [MergeCo], is created, with the date of completion yet to be announced. Until then, all appointees will continue in their current roles at either Vodafone UK or Three UK, with both companies and teams continuing to operate separately until the merger is finalized," said Vodafone.
"The new leadership team are all looking forward, following completion of our merger, to integrating and to deliver on our commitment to build the UK’s best network for our customers," said Taylor.
First announced two years ago, the deal will create the UK's biggest mobile network operator, with an estimated 29 million customers. It also consolidates the number of network operators from four to three.
The CMA's decision to approve the merger follows concerns it raised in September that the deal could harm competition. It then provisionally cleared it last month.
The merger will see Vodafone own 51 percent of the company, while CK Hutchison's Three will own the remaining 49 percent stake. After three years following completion and subject to certain conditions, Vodafone may acquire Hutchison's stake via a Put and Call option, the telco said today.
