Vodafone chief steps down as shares underperform  

Nick Read will stay on as an adviser until the end of March as the Vodafone board looks for a permanent successor.

Nick Read became Vodafone CEO in October 2018.

Vodafone chief executive Nick Read will step down at the end of 2022, after he failed to halt a years-long slide in the telecommunication giant’s share price, and mergers with major rivals failed to materialise.

Chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle will do the job on an interim basis while the board, led by chairman Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, seeks a replacement. Mr Read, who had been in the post for four years and at Vodafone for more than two decades, will stay on as an adviser until the end of March, the company said.