Proximus chief Guillaume Boutin (pictured) will join Vodafone Group in May as CEO of investments and strategy, replacing Serpil Timuray who departs the UK-based operator after 15 years.
Boutin has led the Belgian operator since December 2019 and is credited by his current employers for initiating a major acceleration of fibre and 5G rollout in the country. Earlier in his career he held roles at French operator SFR and entertainment company Canal+.
He will head up Vodafone Investments, an entity formed in 2024 overseeing its interests in telecoms operators, infrastructure assets and other third parties alongside its partner markets business.
In a statement, Vodafone explained current CEO of Vodafone Investments Timuray decided to leave the company to pursue external opportunities. She will depart in June after 15 years at the group.
During her career at the operator, she has held a number of senior roles including CEO of its Europe Cluster, chief commercial and strategy officer, CEO of Vodafone Turkey and regional chief for its AMAP region, which covered operations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
Proximus impact
In its statement, Proximus’ board noted regret Boutin was leaving, with the search for a successor about to begin.
Praising the outgoing chief, Proximus chair Stefaan De Clerck said “in his role of CEO, his leadership and strong execution of the strategic transformation programme repositioned Proximus successfully for long-term profitable growth on the domestic as well as international markets”.
He added the board “will ensure the continuity of the strategy” already in place.