Vodafone rings in the changes with Sarin departure

By Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) - Arun Sarin, the chief executive who safeguarded Vodafone's dominance among mobile operators by expanding into emerging markets, announced his departure on Tuesday, saying he had achieved all he had set out to do.

He will be replaced by his deputy, Vittorio Colao, in July.

Analysts welcomed the smooth transition at the top of the world's largest mobile phone group by revenue but said that it had come slightly earlier than expected.

Shares in Vodafone opened 3.7 percent higher before slipping back to be 1 percent up at 0925 GMT.

"I have achieved what I set out to achieve on becoming CEO and therefore I felt the timing was right," Sarin told reporters on a conference call, adding that he did not expect the group's strategy to change.

He warned that Colao, 46, will have to navigate the tricky economic slowdown ahead.

Vodafone made the announcement as it issued a solid outlook for 2009 and annual results for the year ending March 2008 either in line with or slightly ahead of forecasts.

Under Sarin, the mobile group expanded into faster-growing emerging markets such as India and Turkey and developed new tariffs and products for services such as downloading games and music to attract customers in the more mature markets of Europe.