Marten Pieters, Vodafone India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, will be stepping down from his post with effect from 1 April, 2015. He will be succeeded by Sunil Sood, who is at present the chief operating officer at the telecom giant.
Mr. Pieters will continue to remain on the Board of Vodafone India in a non-executive capacity, Vodafone India said in a statement.
“It has been a pleasure and a privilege to lead Vodafone India and I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their passion and commitment in support of our goals over the last six years,” Mr. Pieters said.
He was appointed Vodafone India MD and CEO in February 2009, making him the longest serving chief executive of any Indian telecom company. Under his leadership, Vodafone India doubled revenues, added more than 100 million customers, increased market share and launched data services used by more than 57 million customers.
Mr. Sood, who had joined Vodafone India's predecessor business, Hutch, in 2000, in his current role, is responsible for day-to-day operations and P&L management together with new business development initiatives including the launch and expansion of mobile commerce activities.
He has held roles leading the company’s operations in Gujarat, Kolkata and Chennai. Mr. Sood graduated with a B Tech from IIT (Delhi) and PGDM from IIM (Kolkata) and is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. He had previously worked for Pepsi in a range of Indian and international leadership roles.
Mr. Sood's successor as Chief Operating Officer will be announced in due course, Vodafone said.
