Vittorio Colao is to be reinstated at Vodafone in October after quitting the company as Deputy Chief Executive two years ago.
His involvement with the firm is likely to be one of re-shaping and refreshing the European Operations and is rumored to receive just under £800,000 a year for the role.
This seems to be a welcome return for many of the larger shareholders who previously looked upon Colao as a key member of the corporation, and now there is speculation that his appointment could be to do with him being seen as an appropriate replacement for the threatened Sarin.
For now, though he will directly replace the last rumoured Sarin replacement, Bill Morrow, and Sarin and Colao will be working alongside each other with the good relationship that was seen in the year before Colao’s exit.
Mr.Colao will have a tough time in his new role, as what were Vodafones key areas in core marketplaces, seem to be suffering with slower growth trends. If you add to this the fact that their chairman has had to appease the calls of the shareholders in order to allow Arun Sarin time to prove his new, and the fact that no significant upturn by the end of the year will unsettle the city viewpoint, it will be hard for Colao to not be seen as a threat by Sarin, who could be out by Christmas.