Vodafone Group revealed the CEO of its Italian business Aldo Bisio (pictured) will relinquish the role in November but remain on the division’s board to help oversee its sale to Swisscom, which is provisionally scheduled to complete in H1 2025.

Current CFO of Vodafone Italy Sabrina Casalta is set to takeover on an interim basis from 15 November until Swisscom takes over.

In a statement, the operator group explained Bisio was moving on to “pursue an external opportunity” but would stay as a non-executive member of the Vodafone Italy board to oversee the regulatory approvals process for the sale. He has been CEO of the operator since 2014.

Vodafone Group CEO Margherita Della Valle credited the outgoing executive with competing successfully “despite challenging market conditions” in the country.

She added under his leadership the unit had also “developed a number of innovations adopted in our other markets” with the executive leading the “simplification and streamlining of our Group Commercial operations”.

Vodafone signed a deal to sell its business in Italy to Swisscom in March for €8 billion, as part of ongoing efforts to reshape the group’s European operations, which has also included the sale of its unit in Spain and a pending merger with rival 3 in the UK.