Pusey steps down after eight years and will be replaced by Johan Wibergh who will join from Ericsson in May
Vodafone Group chief technology Steve Pusey has informed the Vodafone board of his intention to retire in July after eight years at the operator.
Pusey (pictured) joined from Nortel in 2006 and was appointed to the board in 2009. He has overseen Vodafone’s launch of 4G services and part of Vodafone’s £20 billion Project Spring investment.
Pusey said: “Vodafone is a great company and it has been a great privilege to share in its journey over the last eight years. I have worked with the best people in the industry and have made friendships that will last a lifetime. I will leave the Vodafone technology community in excellent hands and wish Johan every success.”
Pusey will step down from the board following Vodafone Group’s Annual General Meeting, scheduled for July 28. He will be replaced by Ericsson executive VP and head of networks Johan Wibergh. 
Vodafone said that Pusey also played a key role in the development of its IT, procurement and cyber security functions. He also led the Group’s convergence strategy which has seen Vodafone make acquisitions in Germany, New Zealand, Spain and the UK during the last few years.
Johan Wibergh
Wibergh has been at Ericsson since 1996 holding a number of roles, including spells as head of Ericsson Brazil and as head of customer support.
Wibergh will join Vodafone in May for a transition period until Pusey’s retirement. He will report directly to Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao.
“Steve has been an outstanding colleague who has made an immense contribution to Vodafone, and I would like to thank him for his wisdom, focus and commitment,” Colao said. “He will leave as his legacy a business strongly placed for success as a result of his efforts, including most recently his leadership of Project Spring which is well on track and already delivering significant benefits for our customers.
“I would also like to welcome Johan to Vodafone: his background and skills are strongly complementary as we continue our transition to a global data company and I look forward to working with him closely.”
Ericsson confirmed that Wibergh would continue his role with the Swedish network technology maker until April 30 when he will depart for Vodafone.
The role of head of segments network will be integrated into the responsibilities of Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg, who thanked Wibergh for his service with Ericsson.
“Under Johan’s leadership we have consolidated our market leadership in mobile networks and taken important steps to drive company transformation in IP, Cloud and the evolution towards 5G,” said Vestberg. “I am proud to see that he now takes on another senior position in the industry.”