India born, Arun Sarin, 53, who steps down as CEO of the world?s largest mobile phone company, Vodafone Plc, in July after five years at the helm, will be leaving the company at a high point in his career.
The IIT Kharagpur-educated Sarin shot to prominence early last year in India when Vodafone joined the race to acquire 52% stake in Hutchison Essar. He fought a bitter behind-the-scenes corporate battle with Anil Ambani?s Reliance Communications before finally wresting the company.
Sarin shares an excellent rapport with Bharti CMD Sunil Mittal, and prior to the Hutch acquisition, Vodafone held a 10% stake in Bharti. Complimenting Sarin, Mittal said, ?He?s a great professional and a friend. He has had a spectacular stint at Vodafone.?
Considered the chief architect of Vodafone?s emerging markets focus, with key acquisitions in Turkey and India, Sarin also departs at a time when the company?s profit for the year ended March 2008 touched a record ?6.66 billion ($13.2 billion). In India, the company recorded a huge 50% increase in revenues and took its total subscriber count to over 44 million.
Vodafone?s shares have risen 39% on the LSE since Sarin became CEO in 2003. He spent $300 billion on acquisitions?including $188 billion for Germany?s Mannesmann AG in 2000?to turn Vodafone around. Observers feel the new CEO, Vittorio Colao, is likely to maintain Sarin?s focus on emerging markets, owing to the high growth in these regions.
Sarin has also had his share of hard times. At two previous Vodafone annual meetings, he came under pressure from investors to identify a strategy that would help the company rein in losses. For the year ended March 2006, Vodafone lost ?21.9 billion, the largest loss in European history.
Vodafone chairman John Bond said, ?Arun has done a tremendous job as chief executive. He has developed a new strategy for the business and significantly expanded our footprint in emerging markets.?
