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Liv Garfield tipped for top job at Vodafone: Boss of one of UK’s largest water companies emerges as outside candidate
On the road?: Liv Garfield has been head of Severn Trent since 2014
The boss of one of the UK’s largest water companies has emerged as an external candidate for the top job at Vodafone.
Liv Garfield, who has headed Severn Trent since 2014, could make a dramatic return to the telecoms sector as a replacement for recently ousted Vodafone boss Nick Read, according to City sources.
The 47-year-old spent three years as CEO of BT’s Openreach broadband division, where she spearheaded the company’s roll-out of fiber internet.
In April, she will spend the full nine years at Severn Trent – the proposed maximum a director should sit on a company’s board of directors, according to the UK’s corporate governance code.
Other candidates include Olaf Swantee, the former boss of mobile network EE, and Lutz Schüler, head of Virgin Media O2.
There is also speculation that Vodafone could give the job to its interim chief executive and chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle, although that could lead to backlash from some investors.