Vodafone CEO Sarin to step down

European telecoms giant Vodafone Group announced the resignation of CEO Arun Sarin, who will exit the company July 29. Deputy chief executive Vittorio Colao was appointed his replacement. Sarin took over the Vodafone helm in mid-2003, and under his stewardship the company expanded into emerging markets including Romania, Czech Republic, Turkey and India, growing its global subscriber base from 120 million to over 260 million. On Tuesday Vodafone also announced its first quarter earnings, reporting group revenue of $70.1 billion, buoyed by data revenue growth of 35.7 percent. "I felt the timing was right to hand over as the company is in a good position strategically," Sarin said during a Tuesday conference call. "I've achieved what I set out to achieve when I took the position."

For more on Sarin's resignation:
- read this release

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