Vodafone Spain’s CTO to leave as operator implements new group-wide tech structure

Vodafone Spain is restructuring its tech division in line with group strategy. Reports says Ismael Asenjo decided to leave.

The restructuring in Vodafone Spain’s tech division is in line with the strategy announced by the operator group in January, whereby it is splitting responsibilities into Networks and IT/Digital.

Every operating company in the group will have a director responsible for each function, reporting into two group executives: Scott Petty, Director of Digital & IT; and Alberto Ripepi, Networks Director.
 
Spain’s current CTO, Ismael Asenjo (pictured), reports directly to Vodafone Spain’s CEO, Colman Deegan. Asenjo has been with the company in various roles has been for more than 20 years, and it was his decision to leave the company, according to La Información.

Famous for 5G

He has had a high profile due to Vodafone Spain’s starting trials of 5G NSA in 2018, way ahead of the company’s two larger rivals, Telefónica and Orange.
 
5G helped Vodafone Spain staunch high churn rates after it stopped broadcasting football on its pay TV, enabling the operator to 5G to offer the first unlimited data rates in Spain.
 
At the other end of the market, its low-end brand, Lowi, has grown rapidly too.

Restructuring

The 1,000 strong department he has led will be restructured, with the role of CTO becoming obsolete, broken down into two functions – Network and IT systems, as has already happened in some countries such as the UK.
 
Ismael Asenjo is the first exec at his level to leave Vodafone Spain since Deegan was drafted in from Vodafone Turkey to replace the incumbent CEO, Antonio Coimbra.
 
Deegan’s background in M&A sparked speculation and earlier this year Vodafone Spain started takeover negotiations with Spain’s smallest national operator, MásMóvil, which came to nothing.

MásMóvil is currently preoccupied with its intended takeover of Euskaltel, the regional operator for the Basque country, the autonomous community is northern Spain.