Friedrich P. Joussen
Chief Executive Officer Vodafone Germany
Friedrich Joussen obtained the equivalent of a Master of Science degree (Diplom-Ingineur) at the RWTH Aachen University. In 1988, he joined Mannesmann AG after gaining his first professional experience in Portland, USA. In 1990, he moved to the Mannesmann Group’s new mobile communications division, where he made a significant contribution to the establishment and development of D2 mobile communications business and the German mobile communications industry. He held several management positions there in Group Strategy, Innovation Management and Marketing, including Marketing Director at Mannesmann Mobilfunk GmbH.
When the Mannesmann Group was taken over by Vodafone in 2001, Mr Joussen was appointed as the Vodafone Group’s Head of Global Product Management in Newbury, UK. In 2003, he returned to Germany as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Vodafone Germany. In 2005 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Germany and a member of the Vodafone Group’s CEO Council. He is one of the five members of Vodafone’s international Global Innovation Board, which supports the product innovation process from concept to market, and the Vodafone Ventures Board.
When Vodafone took over fixed network service provider, Arcor, Mr Joussen engineered Vodafone Germany’s transition from mobile communication service provider to fully integrated communications group with a portfolio of mobile, fixed network and internet products and services. Vodafone Germany is the only full service provider in the Vodafone Group. In 2006, Joussen was initially responsible for Vodafone’s shareholding in Arcor AG. At the beginning of 2007 he was appointed chairman of the company’s supervisory board. In 2008, Vodafone acquired the remaining shares in Arcor from Deutsche Bank AG and Deutsche Bahn. The two companies were then fully integrated, with the segments of mobile communications and fixed network merged. Today, the company has three commercial divisions, Consumer, Enterprise and Wholesale.
Mr Joussen holds several patents, including one for the Twin-Card which he developed and successfully marketed on an international scale. He also played an important role in the development of Short Messaging Service in Germany into a marketable commercial product.
He is a member of the board of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the BITKOM association’s executive committee, and a member of the Atlantic Bridge organization. He is committed to the promotion of young, talented individuals in the “CEO of the Future” project; is a founding member and alumnus of “bonding Studenteninitiative” and aguest lecturer at the private WHU university.
Vodafone Germany is the largest operating company within the international Vodafone Group in terms of revenue and earnings contribution. It accounts for more than 9 billion Euros (2010/11) of revenue, about 40 million customers and 12,000 employees.
