Former CEO of Vodafone Group Vittorio Colao (pictured) was reportedly given a spot in the newly formed Italian government, taking the reins of the country’s digital transformation.

Colao was appointed to serve in a newly created role of Minister for Technological Innovation and Digital Transition in the administration of Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank who was sworn in as Italy’s new Prime Minister following resignation of Giuseppe Conte, media reports said.

The new minister’s tenure in the telecommunications field includes serving as Vodafone Group’s CEO from 2008 to 2018, and a non-executive director role at Verizon since May 2019.

News agency Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata reported Colao had rejected a proposed ministerial role in 2018, stating he had to complete a work commitment to more than 100,000 people at Vodafone.

When he departed the operator, it highlighted his work leading its transformation from 2G and 3G networks to “one of the world’s leading converged communications companies”, and oversight of a “strategic reshaping of the group”.