Last year's position : Not Placed

When Chris Gent told the board of Vodafone that he was to retire unbeaten (to rip off a common cricket-inspired headline from his last days at the helm), it was decided a top calibre replacement must be found. Though not appointing from within its own senior ranks, the world's biggest mobile operator chose someone they knew - this India-born American had been one of the team at AirTouch, Gent's first big mega-acquisition. So now he heads up a maturing global player, a company that must fulfil on 3G and keep the success of Vodafone live! going. Could ongoing success ever be guaranteed? Possibly, with Sarin in charge.