Margherita Della Valle

Italian-born Margherita Della Valle took Vodafone’s helm in 2023, making her the first female chief in the history of the British telecommunications company. Della Valle, who has spent three decades at Vodafone (most recently as its CFO), is tasked with boosting profits and reversing the company’s slumping share price. As part of her turnaround plan, Della Valle has already sold off Vodafone’s Spanish and Italian arms for €5 billion and €8 billion respectively.

The next chapter of her grand plans includes a $15 billion mega-merger in the U.K. with Three this year, which is set to create Britain’s largest mobile network once complete—and appears to have paused the nose dive in Vodafone’s shares.