Arun Sarin is stepping down from his CEO role with Vodafone. While cutting a controversial figure since his appointment almost 5 years ago, he has overseen rapid expansion in traditional markets, and made significant inroads into India, Turkey and Eastern Europe. In those five years theuser base has grown from 120 million users to 260 million.

Vodafone chairman Sir John Bond was quick to point out that "he has developed a new strategy for the business and significantly expanded our footprint in emerging markets," and as with any good CEO, he leaves the company in a stronger position than when he was appointed.

Deputy CEO Vittorio Colao will step up to become full CEO of the group at the end of the company AGM on July 29th. Full press release at Vodafone's corporate site.