Margherita Della Valle, born on April 13, 1965, in Veneto, Italy (60 years old), is the current chief executive officer of Vodafone, a British multinational telecommunications company operating in over 10 countries across four continents. Since 2023, the Italian executive has held the position of CEO, after previously serving as interim CEO.
Della Valle has been involved with Vodafone since 1994, spending nearly her entire professional life at the company. Many in the business world describe her as a bold and intelligent woman. In early 2025, she led a merger with Swisscom, a Swiss operator that acquired Vodafone Italy for several million euros, positioning the company more strategically in Europe.
A new leadership style
“My focus will be to improve service for our customers, simplify our business, and grow,” said the Italian on the day she officially became CEO. She also expressed great honor at being chosen for the role. Della Valle represents a new wave of women leading major companies, breaking through a male-dominated field and fostering a more inclusive corporate culture.
She was also selected as chair of the Group of 100, a collective of CEOs and CFOs from various UK companies. Many have recognized the transformation efforts led by Della Valle, who has repeatedly reshaped Vodafone’s direction to adapt to a changing industry.
A lifetime in the same company
In the business world, career paths vary. Some professionals start at one company and eventually move on to higher positions elsewhere. Then there are cases like Margherita’s, who remained with a single company and climbed the ranks to one of its highest roles.
Della Valle studied at a prestigious public school in Monaco and went on to earn a master’s degree in economics from a university in Milan. Her first job was at Pronto Italia, a company that was eventually acquired by Vodafone Italy.
She joined Vodafone in 1994 as a marketing analyst. Her first position was marketing-focused, but over the years, she rose steadily through the ranks. In 2004, more aligned with her academic background, she became the company’s chief financial officer, a role she held until 2007.
In the years that followed, she continued serving as CFO of Vodafone until the opportunity came to become CEO. As chief executive officer, she took on full responsibility for strategic decisions and corporate management. She officially assumed the position in April 2023, though she had already been acting CEO in the first few months of the year.
The company stated that her appointment was due to her long-standing history within Vodafone and her experience across multiple roles—marketing analyst, CFO, and interim CEO.
Numerous reports have also highlighted the positive sentiment among employees during her leadership. Known for promoting inclusivity, many Vodafone workers feel involved and heard under her direction.
The deals led by Della Valle at Vodafone
Since becoming CEO in 2023, Della Valle has overseen several key deals and strategic moves. Her leadership was intended to restructure the company and pursue mergers with other providers to improve Vodafone’s market positioning in the telecom sector.
In late May 2025, the deal between Vodafone and Three UK was finalized. Looking ahead, Della Valle pledged to invest billions of pounds to develop a 5G network across Europe. “We’re looking forward to building out our network and quickly offering our customers broader coverage and superior quality,” she said following the official announcement.
Another major agreement took place at the start of 2025 when Vodafone transferred its shares to the Swiss provider Swisscom. The deal will remain in effect for five years, during which Vodafone will settle outstanding debts and continue to provide telecom services across Europe. In 2023, the year she took over, Della Valle had rejected a possible merger with Iliad Group, which had proposed forming a new joint identity.
Since her promotion to CEO, Margherita Della Valle has focused on improving both customer service and internal employee relations. These goals, along with strategic partnerships and mergers, define her path of continuous improvement and permanent transformation.
Vodafone, as a multinational telecom company, is deeply tied to the ever-evolving tech industry. Change is constant, and adaptation is critical to avoid stagnation. Under these principles, Margherita Della Valle leads the company into the future.