Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao will step down in October after 10 years at the helm of the world’s second-largest mobile operator.
Mr Colao, who previously ran Vodafone’s Italian business before being appointed chief executive in 2008, will be replaced by the FTSE 100 firm’s chief financial officer Nick Read.
The news came as Vodafone revealed a 40pc hike in annual pre-tax profits to €3.9bn (£3.4bn) as it signed up record numbers of high-speed broadband customers.
Shares in Vodafone were down 3.59pc at 199.76p, making the mobile operator the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 index this morning.
The company said it had been “transformed” on Mr Colao’s watch “from a consumer-focused 2G/3G mobile operator to one of the world's leading converged communications companies”, with “the largest mobile and fixed next-generation network in Europe” and a substantial enterprise arm.
Its mobile customers have almost doubled since he took over to 500m, meaning only China Mobile has more.
Gerard Kleisterlee, chairman, said Mr Read had been the “co-architect of the group's strategy together with Vittorio, combining extensive international operational and commercial leadership with world-class financial acumen”.
Revenues in the year to March dipped 2.2pc to €46.6bn, which Vodafone blamed on the completion of a joint venture with Virgin Media owner Liberty Global in the Netherlands and foreign exchange movements.
Last week Vodafone inked an €18.4bn deal to buy Liberty's operations in Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania in a move that will tighten its grip on the European market.
Mr Read will be replaced by his deputy Margherita Della Valle, who will join the board in July.