Dive Brief:

• Vodafone Group CFO Luka Mucic will depart from his role at the telecommunications company “no later than early 2026” in order to take on the CEO role at German property manager Vonovia, according to recent announcements by both firms. Vodafone has begun a “rigorous search” for Mucic’s successor, according to a Wednesday press release.  
• Mucic has served as the Berkshire, England-based telecom provider’s CFO since 2023, a two-year period during which the company has “undergone a wide-reaching transformation programme to reshape our portfolio, simplify our organisation, and refocus on our customers and operational excellence,” Mucic said in a statement included in the Wednesday release.
• For Vonovia’s part, the German real estate company’s supervisory board unanimously voted to approve Mucic as its next CEO, a move that comes as the Bochum, Germany-based company targets a renewed path to growth after facing ongoing headwinds in the European housing sector. Mucic will replace Vonovia’s current CEO, Rolf Buch, “at the latest around the turn of the year 2025/2026,” the company said.

Dive Insight:

Prior to taking the CFO seat at Vodafone in September 2023, Mucic served in a number of executive roles during a 27-year career at software company SAP, including as a member of its executive board and CFO, as well as head of global finance, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The SAP alum joined Vodafone two years ago as part of a number of executive leadership changes ahead of a turnaround plan aimed at bolstering flagging performance. Vodafone appointed 31-year company veteran Margherita Della Valle to the role of CEO in January 2023, with Valle having previously served a five-year tenure as its group CFO, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Mucic “played a key part in resetting our capital allocation priorities and enhancing our focus on operational excellence,” Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle said in a statement included in the release. “I wish him the very best for the next phase of his career as a CEO back in his homeland."

Spearheaded by the reconstituted leadership team, the turnaround plan aimed to “simplify” the organization through steps including cutting 11,000 jobs and refocusing its resources on its Vodafone Business segment serving corporate clients across European markets, according to a May 2023 report by CNN.

As part of the plan, the telecom also completed the sale of its Vodafone Italy unit to Swisscom for €8 billion in January, with Vodafone aiming to use the transaction’s proceeds to reduce its net debt as well as to target up to €2.0 billion in returns to its shareholders, the company said in an announcement.

For the company’s Q3 of 2025, Vodafone reported total group revenues rose by 5.0% to reach €9.8 billion, according to a February trading update. Group adjusted EBITDAaL — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and after lease expenses — also rose by 2.2% to reach €2.8 billion, the company said, results which followed after the sale of businesses in Italy and Spain, as well as approval by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for a merger with 3G network provider, Three.

In returning to his native Germany as Vonovia’s CEO, Mucic will tread familiar waters, with the real estate firm also looking to improve its growth after a downturn in the European housing market last year.  

“I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to the whole Vodafone team. Whilst I look forward to the next step in my career back in my native Germany, it has been rewarding to help shape the transformation and I have the utmost confidence of Vodafone's future success," Mucic said in the statement in the release.

As part of its own turnaround plan, Vonovia is aiming to realize adjusted EBITDA of between €3.2 billion to €3.5 billion in 2028 — which would represent a 30% increase from its full-year 2024 results, the real estate firm said in March. As part of its growth strategy, the company is also aiming to resume new construction and invest in “innovative technologies,” according to the March release.

For the third consecutive year, Vonovia for its full-year 2024 posted a net loss of €962 million, according to its annual report, following a net loss of approximately €6.8 billion in 2023 and a €669 million net loss in 2022.

Vodafone declined to comment beyond its press release. Vonovia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.