TIDMVOD
RNS Number : 6860N
Vodafone Group Plc
22 May 2020
22 May 2020
BOARD APPOINTMENT
JEAN-FRANCOIS VAN BOXMEER TO JOIN VODAFONE'S BOARD AS A
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND TO SUCCEED GERARD KLEISTERLEE AS
CHAIRMAN IN NOVEMBER 2020
Vodafone Group Plc ("Vodafone") today announced that
Jean-Francois Van Boxmeer will be appointed as a Non-Executive
Director following the Company's Annual General Meeting on 28 July
2020, subject to shareholder approval. It is the intention that he
will succeed Gerard Kleisterlee as Chairman of the Board on 3
November 2020. Gerard Kleisterlee, who has been Vodafone's Chairman
for nine years, will step down and retire from the Board on that
date.
Mr Van Boxmeer is currently Chief Executive of Heineken N.V.,
the world's second largest brewer. He has been Heineken's Chief
Executive since 2005 and will hand over the role to his successor
in June 2020.
Nick Read, Chief Executive of Vodafone, said:
"I am delighted that Jean-Francois will be joining Vodafone and
becoming Gerard's successor. He has presided over a highly
successful period of transformation and value creation at Heineken,
has extensive international experience in driving growth through
both B2B and B2C business models, and is highly-regarded as one of
the longest standing and most successful CEOs in Europe. I look
forward to Jean-Francois playing a key role in the next stage of
Vodafone's strategic development."
Nick Read added:
"On behalf of the Board, and everyone at Vodafone, I would like
to thank Gerard personally for his substantial contribution to the
Company since he became our Chairman nine years ago. We have all
benefited considerably from his leadership, experience and wise
counsel during a period of significant strategic transformation,
and I look forward to continuing to work alongside him until
November."
Since taking over as Chief Executive of Heineken in 2005, Mr Van
Boxmeer transformed the company into a truly global organisation
through a balance of strategic transactions and organic growth. The
success of his strategy has resulted in a nearly threefold increase
in Heineken's share price and he is credited with creating
significant shareholder value. He joined Heineken's Executive Board
in 2001 and had worldwide responsibility for supply chain and
technical services, as well as regional responsibility for the
operating businesses in North-West Europe, Central and Eastern
Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. He joined Heineken in 1984 and held
a number of senior roles in Africa and Europe, including General
Manager of Heineken Italy.
Mr Van Boxmeer is a member of the Shareholders Committee of
Henkel, the EUR20 billion household products and adhesive
technology business, and a Non-Executive Lead Director of Mondelez
International, the US-based multinational snacking company. He will
join Heineken Holding as a Non-Executive Director in June 2020. He
has been an active member of the European Round Table for 14 years
and was appointed its Vice-Chairman in November 2018. In this role,
he has led discussions with the European Commission across a range
of issues.
Commenting on the appointment, Gerard Kleisterlee said:
"Today's announcement is the culmination of a succession
planning process which the Board initiated last year. Jean-Francois
is a very experienced businessman, with an in-depth knowledge of
our geographic regions and he brings very strong sales and customer
focus. I believe he is an excellent successor as Chairman. I am
proud of what we have achieved during my nine years with Vodafone
and of the team's efforts to move us from a mobile-only operator to
a leading position in converged communications and our clear focus
on two scaled, differentiated platforms in Europe and Africa."
Jean-Francois Van Boxmeer commented:
"It is an honour to be invited to join the Board of Vodafone and
ultimately to become its new Chairman and to build on Gerard's many
achievements. Vodafone has a unique role to play in enabling the
digital society and the vital importance of technology and
communications in our daily lives has been sharply brought into
focus through recent events. I am greatly looking forward to
working with Nick and the executive team to drive forward
Vodafone's strategy, ensuring that we create significant value for
all stakeholders."
In addition, the Vodafone Board has agreed that David Thodey
will become a member of the Audit & Risk Committee with effect
from the end of the Annual General Meeting on 28 July 2020 and at
that point Sir Crispin Davis will step down from that Committee.
Sir Crispin will continue to be a Non-Executive Director of
Vodafone.
At the date of this announcement, Jean-Francois Van Boxmeer
holds no ordinary shares in the Company. Pursuant to Listing Rule
9.6.13R, it is confirmed there are no other disclosures required in
addition to the above information.
- ends -
For further information:
Vodafone Group
Media Relations Investor Relations
GroupMedia@vodafone.com IR@vodafone.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
Jean-Francois Van Boxmeer
Jean-François van Boxmeer has been Chairman of the Executive
Board and Chief Executive Officer of Heineken N.V. since 2005.
He joined the company in 1984 and, after three years as a
trainee in production, sales and administration in Amsterdam, he
moved to Africa.
In 1996 he returned to Europe to become President & General
Manager of Zywiec S.A. in Poland and in 2000 he was appointed
General Manager of Heineken Italia Spa. In 2001 he was promoted to
the Executive Board.
Since becoming Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief
Executive Officer in 2005 Jean-François has overseen a period of
significant growth, with the company consolidating its position as
the most geographically diverse brewer in the world, the largest
brewer in Europe and the second largest globally. He will step down
on 1 June 2020 and join the Board of Heineken Holding N.V. on the
same date.
Jean-François sits on the Board of Mondelez International
(formerly Kraft Foods Inc.) as an Independent Director, a position
he has held since 2010. In May 2020, he took on the role of Lead
Director. Jean-François is also a member of the shareholders
committee of Henkel AG & Co.KGaA. He is Chairman of the board
of Directors of De Nationale Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam and a
member of the board of the Institut Royal pour Sourds et Aveugles
Foundation in Belgium.
Since 2005 he has been a member of the European Round Table and
was appointed Vice-Chairman in 2018. He is also a member of its
Steering Committee and Chairman of the Trade and Market Access
Working Group. Jean-François studied at the Facultés Universitaires
Notre Dame de la Paix S.J. in Namur (Belgium) and obtained his
masters degree in Economics in 1984.
Gerard Kleisterlee
Gerard Kleisterlee was appointed as Vodafone's Chairman in July
2011. At next year's AGM, Mr Kleisterlee will have been Chairman
for nine years, so this long-planned transition is consistent with
the recommendations of the UK Corporate Governance Code.
During Gerard's tenure as Chairman, Vodafone has undergone a
period of major strategic transformation, from a global mobile
operator to a converged communications leader in Europe and a data
and financial services leader in Africa. Vodafone also has a
significant international enterprise division and global leadership
in the 'Internet of Things'. He has overseen a strategic reshaping
of the Group, including realising $130 billion for our 45% interest
in Verizon Wireless - one of the largest transactions in corporate
history - and the EUR18.4 billion acquisition of Liberty Global's
cable assets in Germany, Czech, Hungary and Romania.
Gerard has extensive experience of senior leadership and global
businesses both in the developed and emerging markets. He has led
the successful CEO transition between Vittorio Colao and Nick Read,
driven the adoption of ROI and ROA in Vodafone's financial
reporting and strengthened our customer focus across the
business.
Gerard is also Chairman of Vodafone Group's Nominations and
Governance Committee.
About Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group is one of the world's leading technology
communications providers, connecting people and organisations of
all sizes to the digital society. We have extensive experience in
connectivity, convergence and the Internet of Things, as well as
championing mobile financial services and digital transformation in
emerging markets.
Vodafone Group has mobile operations in 22 countries, partners
with mobile networks in 42 more, and fixed broadband operations in
17 markets. As of 31 March 2020, Vodafone Group had 362 million
customers, including 115 million mobile customers, 25 million
broadband customers and 22 million TV customers in Europe and 168
million mobile customers in Africa.. For more information, please
visit: www.vodafone.com .
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