Vodafone taps SAP executive to lead business division

Vodafone announced the appointment of Marika Auramo as chief executive of Vodafone Business on Tuesday, effective from 1 July.

The FTSE 100 telecoms provider described Auramo as a respected business leader with more than 25 years of experience in the global IT industry, adding that she would also join its executive committee from the same date.

Previously serving as chief business officer for the EMEA region at SAP, Auramo was responsible for driving the go-to-market strategy across 89 countries and managing 14,000 employees.

She joined SAP in 1999 and held a number of leadership roles, including chief operating officer of EMEA North, managing director for the Nordic and Baltic region, global COO of SAP database and data management in the US, and interim president of the EMEA region.

“I am delighted that Marika will be joining Vodafone to lead our business division - a key growth driver,” said Vodafone Group chief executive officer Margherita Della Valle.

“She brings extensive B2B experience from the IT industry, and I look forward to welcoming her as a member of our executive committee.”

Vodafone’s appointment of Auramo will see her take over from Giorgio Migliarina, who led Vodafone Business as interim CEO.

Under Migliarina's leadership, Vodafone Business reported service revenue growth of 5% at the group's third-quarter trading update, amid strong demand in the public sector and increasing customer adoption of new digital services, such as cloud, security, and internet-of-things (IoT).

“I am looking forward to working with Margherita and the management team and to engaging with Vodafone's customers and partners,” commented Marika Auramo.

“Vodafone Business has strong growth opportunities ahead - as large corporates, SMEs and the public sector look to adopt more digital tools to enhance growth and productivity - and I will be working alongside my new colleagues to capture this.”

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.