Marcel de Groot (pictured), the incumbent since 2024, shouldn’t get too comfortable – the last two CEOs of Vodafone’s biggest European market were fired or quit after a short time
Vodafone Deutschland has extended the contract of CEO Marcel de Groot by three years and appointed Michael Bird as its new Managing Director and Finance Director from 1 September.
De Groot has been in the role since 1 April 2024. His predecessor, former Microsoft exec Philippe Rogge, stepped down less than two years after replacing Hannes Ametsreiter who was fired after seven years at the helm in April 2022. This was a big surprise, given that his tenure as CEO had been confirmed until at least 2024 earlier the same month.
Germany is Vodafone Group’s biggest European market but has been a drag on the group’s profits for some years. On its earnings call in May for Q4 of the financial year that ended at the close of March, Group CEO Margherita Della Valle defended the strategy of value-over-volume in the German market.
She was referring to an impressive rise in broadband average revenue per user (ARPU) after a price hike. However, this also resulted in a net loss of 202,000 broadband customers over the fiscal year, pushing its fixed-line base to below 10 million. In other words, de Groot is not out of woods yet although the chair of the supervisory board, Rüdiger Grube, credited de Groot with steering the operator through a challenging times, restoring revenue growth and establishing a development plan.
Financial support
Michael Bird will succeed Carmen Velthuis, who will step down on 31 August after 11 years with the company. Velthuis has led the finance division in Germany since March 2022 and is said by Vodafone to have played a key role in the company’s transformation, strategic projects and simplification efforts. Previously, she was CFO of Vodafone Netherlands then CFO of Vodafone’s EU Cluster markets.
Bird has been with the Vodafone Group since October 2015. He initially served as an executive in Group Mergers & Acquisitions before becoming Group Mergers & Acquisitions Director in 2019. Since May 2024, he has been CFO of Vodafone Investments and worked closely with the German operation. He will report directly to de Groot as a member of Vodafone Deutschland’s management board when he takes up his new position in September.
