He will succeed Gerard Kleisterlee, who has chaired the board for nine years.
Van Boxmeer (pictured) said: “Vodafone has a unique role to play in enabling the digital society and the vital importance of technology and communications in our daily lives has been sharply brought into focus through recent events.” He has been CEO of Heineken for 15 years and steps down next month.
Vodafone CEO Nick Read said: “He has presided over a highly successful period of transformation and value creation at Heineken, has extensive international experience in driving growth through both B2B and B2C business models, and is highly-regarded as one of the longest standing and most successful CEOs in Europe.”
In its statement this morning, Vodafone said that Van Boxmeer transformed Heineken “into a truly global organisation through a balance of strategic transactions and organic growth. The success of his strategy has resulted in a nearly three-fold increase in Heineken’s share price and he is credited with creating significant shareholder value.”
Kleisterlee added: “Today’s announcement is the culmination of a succession planning process which the board initiated last year. Jean-François is a very experienced businessman, with an in-depth knowledge of our geographic regions and he brings very strong sales and customer focus.”
Read said: “On behalf of the board, and everyone at Vodafone, I would like to thank Gerard personally for his substantial contribution to the company since he became our chairman nine years ago. We have all benefited considerably from his leadership, experience and wise counsel during a period of significant strategic transformation, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside him until November.”
