Vodafone boss to step down after sharp drop in share price

Nick Read will be replaced as CEO by finance chief Margherita Della Valle during search for successor

The Vodafone chief executive, Nick Read, is to step down after failing to reverse a sharp fall in the company's share price, as the telecoms company launches steep cost cuts and potential job losses.

Read, a two-decade Vodafone veteran who has run the company since 2018, has been ousted after failing to get to grips with a more than 40% fall in the company's share price during his four-year tenure.