T-Mobile Netherlands’ prospective new owners reportedly tapped Olaf Swantee (pictured) to take the role of chairman at the operator should a deal go through, rumours which broke days after the industry veteran resigned from Vodafone Group’s board.

Bloomberg reported Swantee was set to be named at the helm of the operator’s supervisory board once the €5.1 billion acquisition by investment companies Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus is completed.

The pair are in the process of buying T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom and Tele2, a deal announced earlier this month and subject to regulatory approval.

Earlier this week Vodafone announced Swantee had resigned as non-executive director, having only joined in July, “in light of a recent professional development which now impacts his ability to serve on the board as originally agreed”.

Although not detailing the professional development in question, Vodafone also operates in the Netherlands through its VodafoneZiggo JV with Liberty Global.

Prior to joining Vodafone’s board, Swantee held a number of executive and director positions across the industry including as CEO of UK operator EE and Swiss provider Sunrise.