Jason Paris to take over as Vodafone NZ CEO

Jason Paris to take over as Vodafone NZ CEO, replacing veteran Russell Stanners

By Rebecca Howard

June 12 (BusinessDesk) - Jason Paris, currently Vodafone Group's director for convergence acceleration, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific region, will succeed long-serving local head Russell Stanners, who is stepping down from his role as Vodafone New Zealand chief executive at the end of October.

Paris joined Vodafone Group from Spark New Zealand where he was chief executive of home, mobile and business and previously held high profile roles at Television New Zealand and MediaWorks. His new appointment is effective from Nov. 1, Vodafone said in a statement.

Stanners, who has been with Vodafone for 17 years and CEO for 12, said the company will continue to operate as usual until he completes his tenure in October.

“It’s been an incredible journey and the time has come for me to step down from my role as Vodafone NZ CEO. I’m committed to leading our great team until October and beyond that, I wish the company all the best as it enters a new era,” Stanners said.

Vodafone regional chief executive for AMAP, Vivek Badrinath, said that since Stanners was appointed NZ chief, "he has transformed the company from a consumer mobile business to a digital technology leader providing fixed, TV, converged and mobile services to more than two million customers across New Zealand."

Under Stanners, Vodafone has shifted from a pure mobile play to an integrated telecommunications company, with a raft of acquisitions including TelstraClear, WorldxChange, and more recently Farmside. He missed out on building a vertically integrated media telecommunications group last year when the Commerce Commission rejected a proposed merger with pay-TV group Sky Network Television.

(BusinessDesk)

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