Leap of faith or is he just being groomed, handsomely, for top job?
Almost exactly six months after jumping ship from T-Mobile’s US business to join Britain’s Vodafone, new north and central Europe CEO Philipp Humm has emphasised his faith in his new employers by buying up £358,832 worth of shares.
A statement released by Vodafone seemingly played down the purchase, pointing out that all executive committee members – but not directors – had to acquire and maintain their own minimum share levels as part of corporate policy, but it was not clear if Humm, 52, had exercised options or been assisted in the purchase.
Back in June, German-born Humm claimed that he was returning to Europe to spend more time with his family after two bruising years at the helm of T-Mobile US.
But then almost immediately it was revealed he would by joining Vodafone with a freshly squeezed plum job, overseeing networks in Europe’s strongest economies, from the UK and Germany to the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
His territory also includes Turkey, Vodafone’s fastest growing market and whose performance the UK operator’s chief executive Vittorio Colao doesn’t want sullied with more depressing results from southern Europe.
Behind the scenes it’s thought Vodafone might be shaping its territories strategically in case of a Eurozone break-up, simultaneously diverting investor attention away from less profitable regions.
But Huum’s meteoric rise has also sparked rumours he is being groomed for the top job at Vodafone, though there is no suggestion that Colao is yet ready to quit despite selling off more than £11 million of his own shares last year, soon after news emerged that Humm was joining the ranks.
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