MARCH 15, 2006

Changes at Vodafone

McLaren's new sponsorship deal with Vodafone is in the spotlight following the news of ructions within the mobile company. Vodafone's chief marketing officer, Peter Bamford, the man who did the deal, has left Vodafone and has been followed out of the door by honorary chairman Sir Christopher Gent. Other executives have been leaving in recent months and in July the current chairman Ian MacLaurin is stepping down to be replaced by HSBC chairman Sir John Bond. Bond knows Formula 1's value from his adventures with HSBC but that does not mean that he will consider it a good idea for Vodafone. At the same time there is talk that venture capital group CVC Capital is part of a consortium which is trying to buy Vodafone.