Voda's top marketing man clears desk

Vodafone top marketing man Peter Bamford will be clearing his desk over the next couple of weeks following yesterday's announcement that he is to leave the mobile giant.

The chief marketing officer and executive director will be out on 1 April, despite having made a "major contribution to [the] business over many years".

Voda chief exec Arun Sarin said Bamford had been, "instrumental in developing our brand both within the UK and internationally and delivering a number of major initiatives including the launch of Vodafone live! with 3G and overseeing some of our key sponsorships. We wish him well in the future and thank him for all he has done for Vodafone".

All pretty courteous and amicable, no? Erm, well, no, actually.

Reports today paint a picture of boardroom infighting and a power struggle at the telecoms giant, and the departure of Bamford merely adds to the speculation that all is not well on the top floor of Voda.

Indeed, 10 days ago Vodafone announced that it would reduce the value of its assets by between £23bn and £28bn. Announcing the massive hit it also warned that earnings for the coming year were likely to fall. ®