Vodafone Group has announced that Hatem Dowidar, chief executive officer (CEO) of Etisalat (e&), its largest shareholder, would join the telco’s board with the two companies agreeing on strengthening their strategic relationship. Dowidar will stay on the board as e& maintains its current 14.6 per cent stake and would be able to nominate a second non-executive director if the shareholding exceeds 20 per cent. The group is open to increasing its stake in Vodafone.
Meanwhile, Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle also stated that a closer alignment with e& would benefit both the companies and bring additional telecoms experience to Vodafone’s board. The group expressed the idea of offering joint cross-border digital services and solutions to multinationals and public sector organisations, considering joint procurement, and forming closer roaming agreements and working together in technology. Xavier Niel and Liberty Global are also part of the shareholder register.
