Vodafone marketing chief to quit

Vodafone’s global marketing chief David Haines is leaving the mobile telecom company to take a new job.

Haines, who has been at Vodafone for nearly four years, is understood to be taking up a job as chief executive at a German company. It is not thought to be a rival telecoms company or to be based in mainstream marketing. It is thought to have been taken over recently by private equity specialists.

Insiders claim Haines has been keen to find a new job since the company appointed Peter Bamford as chief marketing officer over his head. Bamford moved from his role as chief executive of its northern European operations as part of a top-level restructure at the company last summer. Haines, who was global brand director, was given the role of consumer global marketing director (MW June 26, 2003).

Vodafone later appointed former Hewlett-Packard managing director René Schuster to the new position of global business marketing director (MW March 18).

Earlier this year Haines appointed WPP Group’s David Wheldon as global director of marketing and brand communications. Insiders predict that Wheldon will be given more responsibility. Wheldon and Haines had both previously worked at Coca-Cola together.

A spokesman for Vodafone confirmed Haines’ resignation, but declined to say where he was going. The spokesman added that Haines would not be leaving immediately and that no one had yet been appointed to take his place.