LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Vodafone has recruitedHannes Ametsreiter, the outgoing chief executive of TelekomAustria, to run its German business, the firm'sbiggest market where it is struggling in the face of fiercecompetition.
The world's second biggest mobile operator said on Fridaythat Ametsreiter would take on the German CEO job on October 1after he unexpectedly announced this week that he was quittinghis Austrian role. Shares in Telekom Austria have fallen 4percent since the news broke.
Ametsreiter, the former marketing chief of Telekom Austria,became CEO in 2009 and steered the former state monopoly throughits acquisition by Carlos Slim's America Movil lastyear. He ensured that Vienna would remain the headquarters ofSlim's central and eastern European telecoms empire.
"Hannes is an experienced industry leader with an extensivebackground in convergence, marketing and brand," said VodafoneCEO Vittorio Colao. "We are delighted to welcome him toVodafone."
Britain's Vodafone posted a rise in quarterly sales for thefirst time in nearly three years in May, but a weak performancein Germany took the shine off the results.
Vodafone is in fierce competition with Deutsche Telekom in Germany where the former state monopoly isregaining market share thanks to increasing mobile dataconsumption by smartphone users.
Vodafone is integrating cable operator Kabel Deutschlandwhich it bought in 2013 to help it better compete with DeutscheTelekom by selling multiple services such as fixed and mobilebroadband.
(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Keith Weir)