Vodafone raises Webb to group role

Mike Webb, marketing director for the Vodafone mobile phone network, has been promoted to oversee the UK group’s marketing operations.

His promotion follows the company’s 67bn takeover of US mobile company AirTouch in January, and the appointment of Peter Bamford as UK chief executive earlier this month. Vodafone is one division within Vodafone UK.

Webb previously headed the Vodafone marketing team, which runs independently of the marketing teams of Vodafone’s three service provider companies – Vodafone Connect, Vodafone Retail and Vodafone Corporate.

While Vodafone deals with the mobile phone network itself, Vodafone Connect, Retail and Corporate package the network air time with phones and sell it to different sectors of the public.

Each of the three service provider companies has a head of marketing – Helen Keays at Retail, Kevin Taylor at Corporate and Tim Ward at Connect. Webb will now co ordinate activities across each division and will report directly to Bamford.

Vodafone strategy director Tim Harrabin is also to take a company-wide role – similar to Webb’s – co-ordinating pricing and tariffs.

A new company, Vodafone Central Services, will identify cost-cutting opportunities from overlaps in the different divisions and will co-ordinate customer service strategy and management.

The company awaits shareholder and regulatory agreement to the AirTouch merger, but proposes that the UK becomes one of three operating divisions. The other two are US and Pacific Asia and Europe, Africa and the Middle East.