Arun Sarin, Vodafone's chief executive, has seen off two potential challengers to his authority, securing a public expression of support from the mobile operator's chairman and the resignation of Sir Christopher Gent, honorary life president.
Simmering rivalries inside Vodafone's head office have burst into the open in recent days, with reports of boardroom interference by Sir Christopher and an attempt by Lord MacLaurin to remove Mr Sarin.
Yesterday, Sir Christopher issued an extraordinary statement. "If there is a 'whispering campaign' or 'conspiracy',which I very much doubt, then I am not party to it," he said.
"When I was an executive at Vodafone, relationships within the company and at board level where characterised by openness and trust. We were mercifully free of company politics and blame culture."
Lord MacLaurin, in a separate statement, said he and other board members were "totally supportive of our chief executive, Arun Sarin, as he takes the company forward in changing and challenging times".
He said he had returned from a business trip to read the press coverage of boardroom disputes and was "absolutely aghast at the stupidity of it all".
Vodafone is Ireland's biggest mobile phone operator, with two million customers and €339.54 million in pretax profits last year.
It is understood that some weeks ago Lord MacLaurin's office set up a meeting with several Vodafone top shareholders who have expressed concerns about the group. Company executives and shareholders who have been supportive of Mr Sarin were unaware of the meeting, due to take place today. It was unclear whether it would still go ahead.
The expression of unity comes after Insight Investment - a fund management group more supportive of Mr Sarin than many top shareholders - told its brokers at Goldman Sachs that the board needed to stop their tensions being aired in public. London papers said that Lord MacLaurin had been attempting to force out Mr Sarin following a run of disappointing results.
- (Financial Times Service, Reuters)
