Vodafone rings the changes

Mobile phone giant Vodafone rung the changes in its boardroom today by naming HSBC boss Sir John Bond as its chairman elect.

Vodafone announced that Sir John would replace Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth when he retires at its annual meeting in July.

The news ends a week of speculation about the next role for Sir John after he revealed his intention to leave HSBC after 45 years with the UK’s second largest company.

Arun Sarin, chief executive of Vodafone, said Lord MacLaurin would stay on as an adviser to the company after retiring from the board.

He said: “Ian MacLaurin has made a huge contribution to the success of Vodafone. He has been an outstanding chairman and has overseen the transition of the business from a UK operator to a major global company.

“In 1997, we had just four million customers in 12 markets and now have over 170 million in 27 markets.”

Before joining Vodafone as a non-executive director in 1997, Lord MacLaurin was chairman and chief executive of supermarket giant Tesco and has held non-executive roles with many other companies in the FTSE 100 Index.

He became chairman of Vodafone in 1998 and his profile has also been raised by chairing the England & Wales Cricket Board and the Sports Honours Committee.

Lord MacLaurin said: “Succession planning at Vodafone is a critical element in how we run our business and after nine years on the board I believe that this is the right time for me to hand over.”

Sir John joined HSBC in 1961 and worked in Asia for 25 years and the United States for four years, before coming to London in 1993 when he took on the role of chief executive of HSBC Holdings. He became chairman in 1998.