Future Of British Business
Vodafone’s Mobile Phones Were the Future Once. Now What Happens?
Vodafone placed the UK’s first cellular phone call. Its CEO wants to keep taking risks even as the company nears its 40th birthday.
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At Vodafone Group Plc headquarters in west London, a sign hangs near the office of Chief Executive Officer Nick Read, telling passers-by: “It’s OK to make mistakes.”
Three-and-a-half years into his tenure as CEO, with activist investors and hedge funds on alert, 57-year-old Read deflects media reports of “pressure” and doesn’t actually admit to making any big mistakes himself. “My view is every FTSE CEO has pressure,” Read said in an interview with Bloomberg. “It just comes with the job.”