(Bloomberg) -- Vodafone Group Plc named Heineken NV Chief Executive Officer Jean-Francois Van Boxmeer as its new chairman after more than a year of searching.
Van Boxmeer’s departure from Heineken was announced several months ago. He will leave the world’s second-biggest brewer in June and take over at the international wireless carrier on Nov. 3 from Gerard Kleisterlee, the former Philips Electronics NV boss who has spent nine years in the role.
Heineken’s shares have risen three-fold during Van Boxmeer’s 15-year tenure as CEO of the drinks maker, driven by more than 30 billion euros of acquisitions.
Van Boxmeer is “highly-regarded as one of the longest standing and most successful CEOs in Europe,” said Vodafone CEO Nick Read in a statement Friday.
During Kleisterlee’s time as chairman, Vodafone closed one of the biggest deals in history when it sold a 45% interest in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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