Vodafone drops three from board

MOBILE PHONE group Vodafone Ireland has restructured the board of its Irish subsidiary by eliminating three non-executive directorships.

Chairman Brian Patterson, former Eircom boss Alfie Kane, and Don Maher all quietly stepped down from the board of Vodafone Ireland last October. This board now comprises six company employees.

Vodafone said the changes were “part of a streamlining and simplification of the internal governance processes” within the Irish company. The non-executive directors are believed to have earned six-figure sums for their roles on Vodafone Ireland’s board.

Vodafone said the move to a “simpler governance structure was discussed with those involved and the three non-executive directors voluntarily retired”.

As a result of the changes, Vodafone Ireland chief executive Jeroen Hoencamp has taken on the role of chairman.

The other board members are chief financial officer Thomas Reisten, who was appointed on December 20th and replaced John Kent, who is returning to Vodafone Group; Irishman Gerry Fahy, a long-time executive with the company; and Ed Traynor and Matthew Osborne, who hold company secretarial roles.

UK-based Vodafone employee Darren Jones is also on the board.

Mr Kane, who led Eircom at the time of its privatisation, joined the board of Vodafone in 2003.

His appointment was the subject of some controversy at the time, given that he had sold Eircell to Vodafone in May 2001 during his time in charge of Eircom. This decision left Eircom without a mobile phone arm.

Eircom’s IPO in 1999 turned sour with many investors left nursing substantial losses at the time of its sale to Valentia Communications.

Mr Kane left Eircom 10 years ago, after the Valentia deal, with a compensation package worth €3.8 million. Mr Patterson, a former chairman of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority and The Irish Times, and Mr Maher were appointed to the board of Vodafone Ireland in 2006.