LONDON: In a surprise announcement, British telecom giant Vodafone on May 27 said Arun Sarin would step down as its CEO in July, but did not give any reasons for his exit.India-born Sarin, 53, who was only in April named the most influential businessperson in British technology and telecom space for overcoming shareholder dissent and making Vodafone the largest mobile service provider, has led the company for about five years.

"I have come and did what I came to do," he said later at a conference, adding that Vodafone is well positioned strategically with a strong management team.Coinciding with the announcement of the financial results for the year ended March, when the company saw its revenue grow by over 14 per cent with a significant push from its Indian operations; Vodafone announced that Sarin would step down after the annual general meeting on July 29.

IIT-educated Sarin has been associated with a number of strategic initiatives taken by the company, with the most latest of a significant size being Vodafone's multi-billion dollar acquisition last year of Hutchison Essar, then India's fourth largest mobile operator.In his five-year tenure as CEO, Sarin has led strategic transactions -- both merger and acquisitions as well as asset sell-offs, worth close to 50 billion dollars across the world.

While the company has grown in leaps and bounds, both in terms of financial strength and geographic presence under Sarin's leadership, his tenure has also been marked with opposition from dissenting shareholders.In 2006, nearly 10 per cent shareholders voted against re-election of Sarin, who has been on the company's Board since 1999. While announcing Sarin's resignation, Vodafone said on May 27 that the company's customer base more than doubled from 120 million to over 260 million under his leadership.

Late in April, The Daily Telegraph newspaper named Sarin as the most powerful businessperson in the UK's technology and telecom industry, after having survived the boardroom rumpus and a slew of shareholder dissent and for a masterstroke-like entry into Indian market."Indian-born Sarin survived a boardroom rumpus and a slew of shareholder dissent in 2006, but he made 2007 his year. The man in charge of the world's biggest mobile phone network finally persuaded investors that his strategy stacks up," the daily had said.

The Indian-born American has silenced many of his former critics in the process - even if his speech remains flecked with management-speak from his early days as a consultant, which were followed by periods running telecoms companies on America's west coast, it noted.Vodafone's move into India in February 2007 is starting to look like a masterstroke as rivals seek to emulate Sarin's emerging markets strategy to offset slowing growth in Western Europe, the report had said.

While noting that Vodafone shares have lost a little momentum, the daily said that with a toehold in China, Sarin is well placed to take advantage of an impending shake-up of the mobile market in the world's most populous country.Earlier in 2006, the board of Vodafone had stood by Sarin amidst growing disconnect among the shareholder over his performance."There is absolutely no question of Arun stepping down from this company," Vodafone's outgoing Chairman Ian MacLaurin had said at the company's AGM then.